Even with his team holding a 21-point lead late in the third quarter, Tippecanoe coach Marcus Bixler didn’t expect Tecumseh to go away. Nothing comes easy in a rivalry that has seen five of the last six games decided by five points or less.

The Red Devils did prevail 59-55 on Friday, avenging a 44-43 loss at Tecumseh on Dec. 14, but not before the Arrows turned a blowout into the typical tense affair.

“Tecumseh was 13-2 coming in,” Bixler said. “You know they’re going to make a run. They shoot too many 3s to not make a run at you.”

Tippecanoe led 16-6 after the first quarter and 27-14 at halftime. It had stretched its lead to 45-24 late in the third quarter when Tecumseh’s run began.

The Arrows scored the last seven points of the third quarter and began the fourth with a 9-2 run. With 5:25 left in the game, the Red Devils’ lead had been trimmed to 47-43.

Tecumseh got back in the game by pressing and taking chances on defense, and it started hitting shots.

“I’m proud of our kids and the effort they gave in the second half,” Tecumseh coach Roger Culbertson said. “They just battled.”

That was as close as Tecumseh got, however. Tippecanoe’s Michael Donahey scored back-to-back layups to push the lead back to eight points. The Red Devils took back some of the momentum with those baskets and cruised to their fifth win in the last six games.

Tippecanoe (13-3 overall) pulled into a tie for second place with Tecumseh in the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division at 5-2. First-place Shawnee beat Stebbins 67-53 Friday to improve to 7-0.

Donahey led the Red Devils with 14 points, and Nick Fischer scored 12.

“When they made a run at us, we probably didn’t handle it as well as we probably should have,” Bixler said. “We kind of lost our composure and gave up a few 3s. But we had them running and out of their element. If we handled the ball better in the fourth quarter, it’s probably a more comfortable win. But the guys played extremely well. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Josiah McFarland scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for Tecumseh, and Dalton Davis had 16.