While the seniors were honored before the final home game of the regular season, the Tippecanoe boys basketball team wanted to close out the season with a big win over their rivals from the south. Thanks to a big first half, the Red Devils built their lead and never looked back, cruising to a 61-38 victor over Butler.

With the win, Tipp finishes the regular season 20-2 overall and a very impressive 16-1 in the MVL, winning the league by four games over Sidney and an incredible six games in the Miami Division over Butler.

“This win was great for our kids, and I told the seniors it was their final chance to leave a mark of how they play and who they are. I am proud of how they did that,” said Tipp coach Brock Moon. “We were really good defensively and made a lot of hustle plays and won a lot of 50/50 balls. Smitty had a heck of a game, especially in the first half, just hustling all over the floor and that is the type of team we are.”

Jackson Smith led the Red Devils with a team-high 19 points, while fellow senior Maddox Sivon added 13, as did sophomore CJ Bailey.

Tipp jumped out to a 15-5 lead after the opening quarter as they broke open an 8-5 game with the final seven points of the quarter including five from Sivon. After the Aviators closed the gap to 19-13 with 4:09 left in the half, the Red Devils took over.

An 11-0 run to close out the half gave the Red Devils a 30-13 lead at the half, with Smith scoring the final four points in the final seconds pushing Tipp to the 17-point lead.

Again, Butler made a comeback attempt to begin the third period as they had two steals turned into points and scored six points in 40 seconds to close their deficit to 13 points. But Tipp again went on a run, outscoring the Aviators 12-2 to send the game into the fourth with a 22-point lead.

With the win, Tipp now enjoys some time off to prepare for their first tournament game against Meadowdale, which will be played next week at Trotwood Madison High School.

“We are getting more consistent with our shots and have been shooting better recently,” Moon said. “Defensively, we are more consistent. We will start to get ready for tournament (this) week and may have a scrimmage. We need to take care of the ball, we will play a lot of teams who can pressure the ball. We need to limit turnovers.”