Varsity vs Lake Central (58 - 63) Loss Due to some inclement weather, the Vikings had to postpone a couple of home games for later dates. Instead of playing Michigan City and South Bend Washington, they had to wait thirteen days for their next game at Lake Central; LC is undefeated and ranked first in the DAC. Valpo started the game down 8-0 with a couple of threes from the Indians. The Vikings kept chipping away, trying to get some momentum going their way. Lake Central made that very difficult, hitting six threes out of nine in the first quarter. By the end of the first, Lake Central had the lead, 20-9. It was a similar story in the second quarter: Lake Central shooting threes and making them. Going into halftime, Lake Central had the lead, 33-18. In the third quarter, the Vikings faced their biggest deficit of the game, trailing by 19 points with two minutes left in the quarter. Although the Vikings were aggressive, getting into the lane or kicking for an open three, Lake Central went down the floor and copied that same strategy. It was 44-29 in favor of the Indians going into the last quarter. A spark from Alec Platipodis at the top of a trapping defense helped the Vikings at the very beginning of the quarter. He then went down in the paint and got two layups. KJ Avery started off the fourth with two threes as well and cut the deficit to only ten with three minutes left. A three from Phillip Amones helped the Vikings get within seven. The Vikings then fouled on the other end of the floor and forced Lake Central to shoot free throws; they went 1-2 at the line and gave LC an eight-point lead. Jack Smiley made the play of the game for Valpo on the offensive end, a four-point play that helped the Vikings get within four, 57-53. Valpo had to quickly foul and send them to the line. Lake Central’s Dorien Beatty went to the line to shoot two and missed both of them, giving Valpo life with fifty seconds left. KJ Avery missed a layup, forcing Valpo to foul once again. LC’s Cam Thompson went to the line to also shoot two; he missed both. Jack Smiley pushed it down the floor and made his way into the paint for an and-1, putting the Vikings within a point of the Indians. Smiley fouled and once again sent Beatty to the line; he went 1-2 and gave the Vikings a chance to tie 58-56. Smiley dribbled into the lane and got another bucket, tying the game for the first time. The Vikings have now come back from down 19 to tie the game with sixteen seconds left. Lake Central took the ball down the floor and passed down low into the paint, and they converted an and-1 of their own and made it a three-point lead with five seconds left. Coach Lieske called a timeout and drew up a play for the Vikings to get a three and potentially tie the game. The ball got inbounded by Caden Crowell, and it was out of Kimes’ reach, a turnover for the Vikings. Valpo rallied back from a large deficit the entire game but could not pull off the comeback; Lake Central beat the Vikings 63-58. Smiley had 23 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Phillip Amones gave the Vikings a big source of energy and motivation on both sides of the ball while putting up nine points. KJ Avery and Caden Crowell both had eight points. The Vikings played good, strong defense all game, but the shooting of the Indians is what eventually helped them keep the lead, shooting 61% from beyond the arc. -Michael Opperman, VHS Senior