Tippecanoe Valley’s Brandon Webster takes – and makes – a three against Triton in Valley’s 50-41 boys basketball win Friday night. (Photos by Mike Deak)

AKRON – Tippecanoe Valley showed quite a bit of mettle Friday night. Facing a suddenly hot-shooting Triton team, Valley withstood the Trojans’ late rally to hold on for a 50-41 boys basketball win.

Grant Johnson led Triton with 14 points.

Valley had shot itself to what looked to be a more than comfortable lead in the second half, taking a 30-19 lead at one point as Triton couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean from the pier. But that buffer zone was absolutely needed in the fourth quarter as Triton finally found some touch.

Triton went on a 12-6 run to cut the Valley lead to 41-39 after Masen Yeo hit a high percentage shot. Tippecanoe would then respond with a Jarod Duzenbery free throw and Gavin Bussard jumper to go back up five, only for Yeo to take a Jordan Anderson offensive rebound back in for a bucket. At 44-41, the game would get no closer as Valley would sink four free throws and use an Alec Craig steal and shovel to Neil Clampitt to bury the Trojans.

The win for Valley is the fourth in a row over Triton at home in the series, the home team now having won the past seven contests.

See a video of the senior night introductions for Tippecanoe Valley.

“Tonight we played really good team defense,” said Tippecanoe Valley assistant coach Chad Patrick. “It was a fun game but a close game throughout but I thought we still had control of it in the second half.

“I wasn’t concerned about losing the game. Earlier in the year, we would have folded and thrown 10 in a row away and lost. Now, the guys are a lot more calm, a lot more under control. They are thinking and working together. It’s a lot more fun to watch. They are so much more improved.”

Triton’s Jordan Anderson wrestles with Tippecanoe Valley’s Alec Craig (24) and Jarod Duzenbery for a rebound.

Clampitt, playing with a heavy heart Friday night in dealing with the loss of his grandfather earlier in the week, led Valley with 15 points. Brandon Webster, who got hot during Valley’s scorching third quarter, scored 11 total points. Duzenbery would finish with nine points and nine boards.

Valley, which scored 19 points in the third quarter of what had only become a 16-13 Valley lead at the half, has won four of its last five contests.

Triton, which had won nine of its last 11 games, shot 59 percent (17-29) from inside the arc but were a dreadful 0-12 from three-point range. Triton’s top two scorers, Anderson and Yeo, are averaging over 27 points per game combined, but together were 0-10 from three and 5-23 overall for 15 total points.

Grant Johnson took advantage of Valley’s glaring lack of height inside and finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three blocks. Zac Pitney also had moments of brilliance for Triton, finishing with 10 points and four boards.

“We just have to execute better down the stretch,” said Triton head coach Jason Groves. “Give Valley credit, they played well defensively and made it tough for us offensively. They did a really nice job. All of that wasn’t just our cold shooting as it was their kids playing well and they shot well.”

Valley moves to 9-12 overall, winners of four of its past five. The Vikings will visit Wawasee Friday night in its final regular season game. Triton (14-7) will head up to Bremen Tuesday night before hosting Knox Friday in its final regular season game.

In the JV game, Triton had peeled an early Valley lead down to seven before the Vikings ran away with a 44-27 final. Ivan Santiago paced the winners with 11 points while Wes Melanson and Jake Gearhart each finished with 10 points. Beau Hepler led Triton with eight points.

Neil Clampitt pulls down a rebound in between Zac Pitney (24) and Masen Yeo.