Horizon League Teams Split Quartet of Monday Night Games

Horizon League teams went 2-2 on Monday night, as Milwaukee won a road contest at Northern Illinois and Valparaiso routed visiting Holy Cross (IN). Against Power 6 competition, both Detroit and Loyola hung tough but came up on the opposite end of the scoreboard, falling at Notre Dame and Kansas State, respectively.

Valparaiso 88, Holy Cross (IN) 38
In Bryce Drew's debut at the ARC, Valparaiso (2-1) showed no fatigue from two games last week in an 88-38 rout of Holy Cross.

The Crusaders built upon a 52-percent shooting effort in the opening 20 minutes by going 20-for-29 in the second half as Drew was able to get every dressed player some time. Richie Edwards broke out for Valpo, scoring a career-best 25 points, while Kevin Van Wijk continued his strong work in the first part of the year with 18 points.

Jay Harris added 10 points and a season-best six assists, as Valparaiso handed out 20 assists on 33 baskets.

Milwaukee 59, Northern Illinois 57
It was not always pretty, but in the end, Milwaukee (2-0) hung on for a narrow road win at Northern Illinois, 59-57. The game was not decided until the Huskies' final jumper clanged off the rim at the horn.

Leading 35-23 at the half, the Panthers went ice cold in the second half, shooting just 8-of-31 and allowing Northern Illinois to get back in the game. However, five straight James Haarsma points helped Milwaukee buld a two-possession lead late, and free throws helped Milwaukee hang on.

Haarsma, after a 17-rebound effort in Saturday's win, collected his first double-double with the Panthers, leading the way with 15 points and 12 boards. Four players finished in double figures for Milwaukee, as Ja'Rob McCallum added 12, with Kyle Kelm and Ryan Allen each chipping in 10. Kaylon Williams, in his season debut, had six assists.

Kansas State 74, Loyola 61
Loyola (0-2) battled Kansas State tooth and nail, trailing by just four with 5:22 left before a late Wildcats run pushed them past the Ramblers, 74-61, in Manhattan.

The Ramblers trailed by eight, 44-36, with 12:01 left, but Ben Averkamp and Jonathon Gac brought Loyola back, as consecutive Gac baskets closed the gap to 54-51 before an Averkamp free throw cut the deficit to two. However, that was as close as Loyola would get on the night.

Averkamp led the way with 19 points, while Gac added 10 points and seven boards in just 12 minutes. Denzel Brito recorded a career-best 12 points from the backcourt.

Notre Dame 59, Detroit 53
Leading 31-28 at the half, Detroit (1-1) went 10-for-38 in the second half as Notre Dame took a 59-53 win over the Titans in the first game of the Progressive CBE Classic.

Down 6-0 early, it was Ray McCallum who brought the Titans back in resounding fashion, draining four threes in the first half as Detroit led the entire first half. The Titans were able to stretch the lead to eight on a tip-in from LaMarcus Lowe with 14:51 left, but from there endured a seven-minute dry spell that proved the difference.

McCallum recorded a game-high 20 points, while Chase Simon was the other Titan in double figures with 13 points.