VALPARAISO — Technically speaking, Friday’s game against Chesterton didn’t mean much for Valparaiso.
Having already locked up the outright Duneland Athletic Conference title last week, the game had no impact on the Vikings’ conference standing.
Judging from the large home crowd and emotions displayed on the court, however, the night was far from meaningless. After all, it was Valparaiso against Chesterton.
The Vikings made up for a lack of offense by latching down on the defensive end, edging the Trojans 47-41 to complete an unbeaten conference season.
“There’s no way we wanted to lose to Chesterton,” junior Steve Helm said. “We lost to them twice last year, once at their place and once in sectionals. Our team had that in mind, and we wanted to come out here and get a win for our town.”
Helm poured in 18 points to lead the Vikings, knocking down four free throws in the final minute to ice the victory.
Down 42-39 with 29 seconds remaining, Chesterton (14-8, 3-4 DAC) received extra life when the Vikings (17-4, 7-0) failed to get the ball inbounds and turned it over. However, the Trojans gave it right back with an errant inbounds heave.
“We had Chris (Palombizio) coming off a pick and we didn’t execute,” Chesterton coach Tom Peller said. “That was a huge turnover. If you make mistakes like that against a good team like Valparaiso, that’s the game.”
Palombizio was a focal point of Valparaiso’s defensive effort. The Chesterton leading scorer managed a game-high 21 points against the Vikings’ zone.
“As a team, we did a really good job of locating him and talking,” Helm said. “Talking is a big part of defense. If you don’t talk and you don’t know where Chris is, he’ll knock down a wide open three. He’s a really good player.”
Chesterton played without Niles Dilosa, who served a one-game suspension. He is expected to return next week against Boone Grove.
Drew Paul joined Helm in double figures with 12, while Cole Wolf came off the Valparaiso bench to register nine points.
“Cole’s a senior who would start on a lot of teams, and he’s accepted the role of being the sixth man,” Valparaiso coach Matt Thomas said. “That isn’t always easy for a guy that’s worked as hard as he has. His effort was huge for changing the momentum of the game.”
Minutes after rounding out the undefeated conference season, Thomas had trouble putting the accomplishment into perspective. Still in the heat of the season, the goal of winning a sectional title has his full attention.
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“I know it sounds strange, but I’m not even thinking about what it means for the program,” Thomas said. “I’m still thinking about the Xs and Os of this game and what I could have done differently. I’m thinking about what I have to do to make us a little better to win sectionals.”
Brandon Vickrey is a freelance reporter.