#HLMBB Scoreboard (Feb. 1)
Valparaiso 70, UIC 46
#rv/-- Green Bay 62, Wright State 55
Valparaiso matched Cleveland State's conference record, keeping pace with Green Bay after the Phoenix knocked off visiting Wright State on Saturday. The Crusaders, tied for second in the Horizon League, remain two games behind the Phoenix.
Valparaiso 70, UIC 46
The combination of a career-high 33-point performance from Lavonte Dority and a program record-tying seven blocked shots by Vashil Fernandez propelled Valparaiso to a 70-46 victory over UIC Saturday afternoon.
Dority took his hot play of late, which saw him enter the game averaging 22 points per game over the last five contests, and raised it to another level on Saturday in his return to Chicago. The senior, who had 18 points at UIC last season, matched his recent average in the first half alone, capping a 22-point half with an NBA range 3-pointer right before the halftime horn. Dority ended the game with 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting, connecting on 5-of-6 from beyond the 3-point line, and 8-of-10 from the foul line. It marked Dority’s second 30-point performance of the year, making him one of just six Crusaders in the last 18 years to score 30-plus points multiple times in a career.
Meanwhile, Fernandez stepped up his already-strong defensive play within Horizon League action. The junior, who entered the game second in the league in league-only play with 2.6 blocks per game, swatted four shots in the first half and set a new career high with his sixth block at the 9:31 mark of the second half. Fernandez then tied Valpo’s program single-game record of seven, set by Zoran Viskovic against Northern Illinois in 1998, on a block with 2:12 to play.
It was a back-and-forth battle through much of the first half between the two squads, as Valpo extended to its largest lead at seven with 7:26 left in the period before an 8-3 mini-spurt by UIC closed the Crusader edge to two points at the 3:52 mark. But a 3-pointer by Alec Peters started off an 12-1 run for the Crusaders to close the half, with Dority scoring the rest of the run’s nine points. Dority came up with a steal and fast-break dunk, hit all four of his free throw attempts and capped the half with his buzzer-beating 3-pointer, making it 36-23 Valpo at the break.
Valpo maintained the double-digit advantage throughout the entirety of the second half, with the lead between 15 and 17 points much of that time. UIC got to as close as 12 points following a 3-pointer with 7:59 to play, but Dority came down and hit a jumper off a feed from Lexus Williams on Valpo’s next possession to keep the Flames from getting any closer. The Crusaders would then close out one of their top defensive performances of the season by not giving up a point over the final 3:54 of the game, finishing on a 10-0 run.
Beyond Dority, no other Crusader finished the game in double figures in the scoring column, as nine points from Williams marked Valpo’s second-highest output. Fernandez led the Crusaders on the glass with seven rebounds, while Dority, Peters and Moussa Gueye tallied five boards each. Dority also matched a career best with three steals on Saturday.
The Crusaders limited UIC (5-18, 0-9 Horizon) to just 26.8 percent shooting from the floor, holding the Flames under 30 percent in both halves. Three Flames – Jake Wiegand, Marc Brown and Kelsey Barlow – tied for team-high honors with eight points apiece, but did so on a combined 7-of-27 shooting. Wiegand led all players with eight rebounds, while Barlow handed out five assists.
#rv/-- Green Bay 62, Wright State 55
Alec Brown returned to the court on Saturday for Green Bay, but his frontcourt mate stole the headlines to lead the Phoenix to a bounce back victory over visiting Wright State at the Resch Center.
Greg Mays scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, making 9-of-10 shots from the field overall as the hosts won 62-55 for their 10th-straight home victory.
After Green Bay (18-4, 8-1 Horizon) used a 17-5 run to build an eight-point first-half lead, Wright State (13-12, 5-5 Horizon) scored the final six points before the break to cut the deficit to 29-27.
The Raiders’ run continued coming out of the locker room as the visitors scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 34-29 lead. Mays responded for the Phoenix, who was coming off a 75-60 loss at Valparaiso on Wednesday which snapped the team’s 12-game winning streak.
Mays drained a baseline jumper, threw down a dunk in transition and sank a pair of free throws to start an 8-0 run which reclaimed the lead at 37-34. Wright State tied the game at 37, but Mays responded with a jumper. The Raiders tied the game at 39, and Mays knocked down a three-pointer to start an 11-0 run that put the hosts in front 50-39 with 8:07 to play.
Wright State cut the margin to six, and Mays again scored for the Phoenix. The Raiders cut the Phoenix lead to 55-50, and Mays used a beautiful backcut to score in the lane for a seven-point lead with 3:08 on the clock.
Mays made his first eight shots from the field before he missed and finished with 22 points, six rebounds, a block and a steal in 32 minutes.
WSU refused to go away, with Matt Vest making a 3-pointer on the next possession. This time, it was the more predictable Phoenix player who responded. Junior Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) knocked down a 25-foot three-pointer late in the shot clock to put Green Bay ahead 60-53.
Sykes, the Horizon League’s leading scorer, totaled 18 points, six rebounds and five assists while playing 39 minutes, a season high for a regulation game. Mays and Sykes combined to score 27 of Green Bay's 33 points after halftime.
Brown, who missed the game at Valparaiso due to a shoulder injury and was a game-time decision, played 29 minutes and tallied six points, four rebounds and three blocked shots.
Green Bay held the Raiders to just 37.5 percent shooting from the field and held a 34-31 edge in rebounding. Forcing 16 turnovers, the Phoenix defense totaled 11 steals and seven blocks.
