AKRON – Tippecanoe Valley returned from the holiday schedule with a bang, picking up a key Three Rivers Conference win Friday night over Northfield, 59-55.

A tie ballgame in the fourth quarter, Valley outhustled Northfield 22-18 to pick up the boys basketball win to move to 2-1 in the conference.

Keith Wright took the lead Friday night, scoring 19 points to go with four assists and two steals to pace the Vikings. Wright was also 5-5 from the line. Alec Craig had another all-around night for the Vikings, scoring 18 points on top of nine assists and six boards. Craig’s 4-5 showing from the line left Valley 9-10 overall from the stripe.

Jarod Duzenbery finished with eight points and seven rebounds, and Tanner Trippiedi finished with a career-high 11 points for the Vikings, now 6-5 overall.

Northfield had four players reach double figures, but only six players played in the game. Austin Trump and Joe Halderman each scored 15 points while Cody Holmes had 12 points and Kyle Reed had 11 points for Northfield, which settles at 3-7 overall and 0-3 in the TRC.

The Valley win put head coach Bill Patrick in another stratospheric position, tying Pat Rady for second all-time in career wins in the state of Indiana. Patrick and Rady both sit at 761 wins, only trailing Jack Butcher’s 806 wins. Patrick is 761-310 overall, but has company near the top with both Jack Keefer of Lawrence North (751) and J.R. Holmes of Bloomington South (746) both chugging along on the active list.

Both teams return to the court Saturday, Northfield hosting Madison-Grant while Valley travels to Plymouth.