Broekhoff's Double-Double Leads Valpo Past CSU 74-50

VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Midway through the second half of Friday night's game against Cleveland State, senior forward Ryan Broekhoff came up with an uncontested offensive rebound and easily laid the ball into the basket for a seemingly non-consequential two points.

After all, Valparaiso had all but put the game away at that point, maintaining a 20-point lead for most of the second half. But play was stopped momentarily as the public address announcer noted that Broekhoff had just scored the 150,000th point in Crusaders basketball history.

More importantly, Broekhoff tallied two of his 10 points to help lead Valparaiso to a 74-50 win over the visiting Vikings. Combined with his game-high 12 rebounds, the Aussie recorded a double-double despite scoring just three points in the first half.

It was an important win for the Crusaders, who fell at home on Wednesday night -- the first night of Horizon League action -- to the Loyola Ramblers. Valpo is now 11-5 on the season, 1-1 in League play. Cleveland State, meanwhile, fell to 8-7 and 0-1 in the Horizon League.

The Crusaders were led in scoring by seniors Matt Kenney, who tallied 14 points, and Will Bogan, who had 13. Head coach Bryce Drew went with an all-senior starting five after the loss to Loyola, and it worked.

Both Kenney and Bogan said that the game helped build their confidence.

"[Give] credit to my teammates," Kenney said. I was open because Ryan [Broekhoff] screened my guy. My teammates got me the ball."

"It was a confidence builder for me coming off the last game," Bogan added, saying he hopes to move forward with momentum.

Valpo opened the game with a 12-1 run, forcing Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters to call a timeout before the first media pause. Coming out of the break, the Vikings fought back to pull within one point, but junior guard Jordan Coleman connected on a 3-pointer assisted by Broekhoff to put the Crusaders ahead 18-14 at the 6:53 mark.

The Crusaders ended the first half with a 20-4 run, giving Valpo a 35-18 lead heading into the locker room. It was more of the same to start the second half as Broekhoff and Bogan connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Crusaders ahead 43-21 less than three minutes into the half. Valparaiso gathered its largest advantage of the game -- 25 points -- at the 13:34 mark.

Despite the loss, Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters pointed out that he has confidence in his team to move forward and turn their season around.

"We look like All-Americans in practice, [but] not in games," Waters said. "We'll get it figured out before this thing is through."

The Vikings saw good signs from junior Ludovic Ndaye, who scored a career-high 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and freshman guard Bryn Forbes, who added 12. Both Ndaye and Forbes came off the bench for Cleveland State.

For Valparaiso, the tempo of the game was nearly as important as the win. Playing on national television, the Crusaders ran the floor and played hard throughout the entire game not matter how large of a lead they held.

We have let our foot off the pedal before," Broekhoff said. "Tonight, we took a step forward."

Want a chance to win a trip to the Horizon League men's basketball tournament? Visit HorizonLeagueSocialRewards.com and sign up today!