AKRON – The Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team took care of rival Rochester in convincing fashion Friday night.

The host Vikings rode a strong start to top the injury-plagued Zebras by a 55-38 final in Three Rivers Conference action.

Valley led 8-2 after the opening period and 30-16 at halftime en route to the easy league win.

Alec Craig tossed in a game-high 18 points to lead the way for the Vikings.

Trevor Neeley had a huge second quarter as he scored 11 of his 14 points in the period for Valley.

Ben Perez led the Zebras with 16 points.

Valley improves to 5-7 overall and moves to 3-1 in the TRC. Rochester falls to 1-10 overall and 1-3 in league play.

Valley will host Winamac Saturday afternoon. Rochester hosts Caston on Tuesday night.