Men’s Basketball Scoreboard (Feb. 19)
Valparaiso 85, Loyola 76
Two games remain for Valparaiso in the Horizon League men’s basketball regular season. Looking to bounce back from a tough home loss and maintain its grip on the top spot in the conference, the Crusaders rebounded from a sluggish start to the second half to knock off the host Ramblers, 85-76, at Gentile Arena.
Valparaiso (21-7, 11-3 Horizon) lost a 15-point halftime lead before using an 11-2 run midway through the second half to regain control. With the win, the Crusaders moved one full game ahead of Detroit for the Horizon League lead with two games remaining for both squads.
Trailing 42-27 at the break, Loyola (14-13, 4-10 Horizon) blitzed the Crusaders defensively, using a flurry of turnovers and missed shots to go on a 19-4 run, forcing three Valpo timeouts and tying the game, 46-46, with 11:21 to play.
Jordan Hicks got the run started with back-to-back threes to start the half, while Christian Thomas scored six points in the run, including the game-tying layup.
The Ramblers could not grab their first lead since Nick Osborne’s layup to start the game, however, as Kevin Van Wijk came back with a three-point play to give Valpo a 49-46 edge, only to see Thomas respond with a three-point play of his own.
Van Wijk would come back once more, as Matt Kenney fed him for a layup, but Osborne’s dunk would tie the game for a final time with 10:07 to play.
After knocking down 5-of-9 three-pointers in the first half, Valpo’s first of the second half would give the Crusaders lead they would not relinquish. LaVonte Dority’s triple from the right corner put Valpo up, 54-51, and Kenney would push the advantage to four, 57-53, with a three 45 seconds later.
Kenney’s second three of the half made it a 62-54 game, and after Loyola closed within five on a Matt O’Leary three-point play, some deft ball movement left Erik Buggs alone on the left side of the arc. The senior’s fifth three of the year brought the lead back to eight with 6:21 to play, and Loyola would draw no closer the rest of the night.
Valparaiso built its 15-point halftime lead on the strength of 62.1-percent shooting in the first half. Led by Ryan Broekhoff’s 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, the Crusaders knocked down 5-of-9 attempts from three-point range. Perhaps as important, Valpo had just five turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
The Crusaders had four in the first five minutes of the second half, helping Loyola slice into the gap in rapid succession.
Will Bogan led four Crusaders in double figures, posting an efficient 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a 3-of-5 mark from three-point range. Broekhoff and Kenney each finished with 14, while Van Wijk had 11. All eight Crusaders who appeared in the game scored at least six points.
Thomas continued his strong run of play with 15 points and eight rebounds to lead Loyola. Hicks matched Thomas’ eight rebounds, adding 13 points, while the freshman duo of Devon Turk and Jeff White each had 12.
