Tippecanoe Valley head coach Bill Patrick, along with his staff, shows a look of disbelief following a call made by an official in Tuesday’s win over Wawasee. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

NAPPANEE — The refs let them play and the boys didn’t hold back. In what was a low-scoring, but exciting affair county rivals Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley met for the eighth time in four seasons and second time in four days to determine who would move on in the IHSAA Class 3-A Sectional 21 Tournament at NorthWood.

The Vikings withstood some runs from the Warriors in order to pick up a 47-42 win and advance to Friday’s semi-final to face Fairfield.

“We won,” a very blunt and relieved coach Bill Patrick said following his team’s win. “It was physical both ways, which I think played to their (Wawasee’s) advantage because were not as physical, not as aggressive.”

Wawasee and Valley met to conclude the regular season last Friday, a game the Vikings won 53-35. Patrick knew Tuesday would be different and was pleased to see his team handle the changes.

“Wawasee played hard, they played well. They’re a better ball club than their two wins show,” Patrick said of his opponent. “They had a different lineup tonight than on Friday. They started those guards and they all played pretty well and 30 (Jayce Boatwright) was pretty tough. That should be a good team next year.”

Valley looked to be in control early, leading 9-2, but an 8-0 run from the Warriors left the Vikings trailing after the first quarter 10-9. Wawasee’s offense stalled in the second, scoring just three points. Valley went to the locker room with a 21-13 advantage.

The second half started poorly for the Warriors with a defensive breakdown on the opening inbounds pass, allowing Valley to hit a three. But Wawasee stayed tough mentally, something the team struggled with throughout the season, and went on a 13-0 run to make things tight for the remainder of the contest.

“I was very happy with, number one, the turnaround from Friday night,” said Wawasee head coach Steve Wiktorowski. “Number two, this was a much more consistent effort from us. We’ve struggled with consistency all season so, that’s a good way to end the season at least. If you’re going to lose you want to be competitive for four quarters.”

Both teams had players stepping up all night. In games like Tuesday’s, seniors are the ones that usually step up and that was true for both sides. Boatwright made big plays late to keep his team alive, including a timely steal of an inbound pass that led to two points and a tie game in the fourth quarter. Boatwright finished with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Valley was inspired by senior Alec Craig. Craig his share of big plays including a steal that led to points and a big play in the final minute where he slipped by the Wawasee defense on a inbound play and extended the Vikings lead. Craig led all players with 16 points. Neil Clampitt added 10, as did Jarod Duzenbery, for Valley.

The Vikings needed everybody to step up to survive and they got that effort as six players scored for Valley, including a rare, but timely three from Keith Wright in the first half. Wawasee, who was led offensively by Tyler Smith’s 14 points, had eight scorers on the night.

The youth shined through in plenty of positive ways for four quarters but bad habits and stereotypical mistakes made by young teams caught up with the Warriors in the final 18 seconds. Valley took advantage of a Warrior turnover, followed by a poor shot selection to clinch the victory.

Wawasee closes the season at 2-21, tying the program record for most losses in a season (1998-99). The only way to go is up for Wawasee and there are plenty of pieces to succeed in that mission.

“It’s critical for next year,” Wiktorowski said of his team’s mental toughness Tuesday night. “We talk a lot about carryover. Carryover from practice to games, or from a loss to the next game. What did we learn from it?

“What’s important is what we carry over from this game. How much does this get them excited about putting in the work in the offseason and getting better to start off next year? That’s what you look for.”

Valley improves to 11-12 on the season and will face Fairfield (13-9) in Friday’s second semi-final. No. 1 NorthWood, a 79-38 victor over West Noble in Tuesday’s first game, will face Lakeland in the first semi-final of the evening.