Cleveland State, Valpo Notch Friday Night Victories

Horizon League Men's Basketball Scoreboard (Friday, Jan. 13)
Cleveland State 76, Butler 69
Valparaiso 76, Youngstown State 62

The 16th Horizon League men's basketball game to be within a possession in the final minute of regulation took place at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday night, with Cleveland State knocking off Butler, while Valparaios held Youngstown State at arm's length to collect a victory at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

Cleveland State 76, Butler 69
With timely three-point shooting and defense, Cleveland State managed to achieve something it had not done since Feb. 10, 2005: win a regular season game at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Putting four players into double figures, the Vikings claimed a 76-69 victory over Butler.

Cleveland State (15-3, 5-1 Horizon) moved into a tie atop the Horizon League standings with Milwaukee, with each having one more game to close out the weekend. Friday night's contest was one of runs, with the Vikings opening the game on a 20-4 spurt, only to see Butler (9-9, 3-3 Horizon) battle back to take a 41-40 lead early in the second half after two Andrew Smith free throws.

However, the Vikings came right back, answering the Bulldogs with a 9-1 run, with Jeremy Montgomery and Tim Kamczyc scoring all the points in the spurt. Montgomery got the rally started with a jumper, and after a Kamczyc fastbreak layup, Montgomery drilled a three to force a Butler timeout with 14:14 to play. Two Kamczyc free throws extended the CSU lead to a 49-42.

Cleveland State would push the second half edge to 11 points on another fastbreak layup as Trey Harmon corralled a rebound and raced to the opposite end, but Butler, as it did throughout the first half, would rally.

Down 10 with 4:30 left, the Bulldogs used two three-pointers from Chase Stigall to close within 70-66 with 31 ticks left; after two Harmon free throws, Ronald Nored banked in a three to draw Butler within a single possession, 72-69, but Montgomery, Harmon and Anton Grady would go a combined 6-for-6 at the charity stripe to seal the outcome.

After going without a field goal in the first half, Montgomery led all scorers with 18 points, knocking down three triples in the second half. Kamczyc was 6-of-12 from the floor in finishing with 17, while Harmon and Grady posted 12 and 11, respectively.

Butler had one of its most balanced efforts of the season, with Smith leading the team with 13 points. Nored and Stigall each finished with 12 points, while Khyle Marshall added 11.

Valparaiso 76, Youngstown State 62
Behind Kevin Van Wijk's career-high 23 points, Valparaiso knocked off visiting Youngstown State, 76-62, at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

Entering the night 12th in the nation in field-goal percentage, Van Wijk went 7-of-14 from the floor, adding 9-of-11 shooting at the free throw line to best his previous career high of 22 scored on Nov. 20 and Dec. 17.

The victory boosted Valparaiso (11-7, 4-2 Horizon) into a tie for third place in the Horizon League with Youngstown State (9-7, 4-2 Horizon); the Crusaders host Cleveland State on Sunday afternoon, while the Penguins head down I-65 to play Butler.

Leading 32-24 at the half, a quick six-point spurt covering just 32 seconds pushed the Crusader lead ahead early in the second half. Ryan Broekhoff absorbed a flagrant foul on the fast break, splitting his pair of free throws. On the ensuing possession, Van Wijk converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to finish the four-point trip. After a Penguin miss, the Crusaders got out and ran, with Erik Buggs finding Broekhoff for a fast-break layup to push the advantage to 40-27 with 16:32 to play.

The Crusaders would lead by as much as 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Youngstown State kept rallying, cutting the deficit to seven points twice down the stretch. Each time, Valpo would respond, with Van Wijk hitting a pair of free throws and Matt Kenney finding Van Wijk on the post to push the Valpo edge to 52-43.

Four straight points from the Penguins, capped by a fast-break jumper from Kendrick Perry, moved the Penguins within 57-50 with 7:30 to play, but the third attempt was the charm for Van Wijk, as he once again held off Youngstown State. Perry responded with a pair of free throws, but Broekhoff came back and knocked down second three-pointer of the game to make it 62-52 Valpo with 6:26 remaining, fueling a 9-0 run that sealed the game.

Broekhoff finished with 14 points on the night for the Crusaders, while Richie Edwards came off the bench to add 12 and Will Bogan finished with 11. Four Penguins ended the night in double figures, with Blake Allen and Perry leading the way with 16 apiece. Ashen Ward had 13 and Damian Eargle 11 for YSU.