Van-Far hung in there on Friday to win at Tipton.

After the Indians trailed 31-28 at halftime and had their two season leading scorers each picked up their fourth foul in the third quarter, they won their first meeting with Tipton 70-60. Van-Far (6-4) outrebounded Tipton (5-4) 34-17.

“At half, I was really impressed with our demeanor and outlook on the game,” head coach Pat Connaway said. “We came out of the locker room feeling good about ourselves and that composure and maturity was tested in the third quarter again.”

Pacey Reading led with 25 points and 11 rebounds, Evan Utterback followed with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Bryce Reading had 10 points in his game back from injury, and Gaven Gaston and Kaleb Baskett each had seven points. Pacey Reading and Gaston each picked up their fourth foul in the third quarter but avoided fouling out and then some.

“We trusted them and put them both back in the fourth quarter.” Connaway said. “In the fourth, Pacey scored 10 of his game high 25 and Gaven scored 5 of his 7 in the fourth. Fifteen of our 24 points in the fourth came from the two seniors that had four fouls and they managed to stay in the game the entire time.”

The Indians made 21-of-27 free throws to seal the game.