The Valparaiso Vikings lost to the Mishawaka Marian Knights back in December of 2022, but the Valparaiso Vikings didn't allow the Mishawaka Marian Knights the same satisfaction on Thursday. Valparaiso walked away with a 46-39 victory over Mishawaka Marian. Given Valparaiso's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 39th, while Mishawaka Marian is ranked 130th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
When it comes to explaining why Mishawaka Marian lost, one person who can't be blamed is William Owens. Despite the final result, he scored 19 points along with seven rebounds. Owens scored a full 48.7% of Mishawaka Marian's points, the fifth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Paxan Sullivan, who scored nine points.
Valparaiso has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. As for Mishawaka Marian, they have fallen quite a ways from their 23-3 record last season and are now at 3-7.
Valparaiso and Zionsville will face off at 4:30 p.m. on December 28, 2023 without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Zionsville focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up ten on Thursday. Mishawaka Marian and Carroll will face off at 5:30 p.m. on December 28, 2023 without much rest after finishing up games yesterday.
