ST. LOUIS — — Rakim Chaney had 18 points in Valparaiso’s 63-62 win over Indiana State on Thursday in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Chaney added five rebounds, five assists, and three steals for the Beacons (18-14). JT Pettigrew added 14 points while going 5 of 8 and 3 of 6 from the free-throw line while they also had seven rebounds. Brody Whitaker finished with 10 points.

Camp Wagner led the Sycamores (11-21) in scoring, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Indiana State also got 12 points and three blocks from Ian Scott. Enel St. Bernard finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four steals. The loss was the Sycamores’ seventh in a row.

Chaney scored nine points in the first half and Valparaiso went into halftime trailing 37-28. After trailing by nine points in the second half, Valparaiso went on a 7-0 run to narrow the score to 37-35 with 17:11 remaining in the half before finishing off the victory. Pettigrew scored 12 second-half points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Central Indiana has seen a very wet start to March, with several rounds of rain and storms moving through the region over the past few days. In fact, the city of Indianapolis has already received more rain in the first four days of the month than it typically gets during the entire month of March.

So far this month, Indianapolis has recorded 3.90 inches of rainfall, which already exceeds the normal March monthly average of 3.79 inches. Much of that rain came during a widespread soaking on Tuesday, when a strong system pushed steady showers and thunderstorms across the state.

Some of the highest totals over the past three days have been recorded across central Indiana. Rain gauges show 5.86 inches in Marion County, 5.02 inches in Morgan County, 4.97 inches in Hancock County, 4.95 inches in Shelby County, 4.57 inches in Johnson County, and 4.26 inches in Hendricks County. These totals represent a significant amount of rainfall in a short period of time and have left many areas with saturated ground and standing water in low spots.

Despite the widespread rainfall, the impact on drought conditions has been somewhat uneven across the state. According to the latest drought monitor, the areas that received the heaviest rain over the past few days are largely the same areas that were already in relatively good shape in terms of moisture levels. Meanwhile, parts of northern Indiana that have been dealing with more persistent dryness have seen much lighter totals.

Cities such as Kokomo, Lafayette, and Muncie have generally picked up less rain compared to areas farther south. Forecast models suggest that pattern may continue over the next several days.

Additional rainfall is expected through Thursday, with another round possible around midday Saturday. Current projections show the best chance for another inch or more of rain focusing once again across the southern half of the state, while northern Indiana may see lower totals.

That means while the recent rain has certainly helped improve soil moisture in many areas, it may not fully address the lingering dryness farther north. For now, the pattern remains active, and Hoosiers should expect more wet weather before the system finally begins to move out later this weekend.