Men's Basketball Final Shot: Jan. 12

Men’s Basketball Scoreboard (Jan. 12)
Valparaiso 76, Milwaukee 52
Green Bay 53, UIC 47
Cleveland State 74, Detroit 62

After two full weeks of Horizon League play, if anyone claims to know what will happen the rest of the way, they are lying. Cleveland State knocked off previously unbeaten Detroit to cap Saturday, while Valparaiso notched its second road win in the Horizon League and Green Bay defended its home court.

Valparaiso 76, Milwaukee 52
Ryan Broekhoff dominated, turning in a 26-point, 10-rebound effort as Valparaiso rolled past Milwaukee, 76-52, at the Klotsche Center in the Horizon League Network Game of the Week.

Broekhoff’s effort lifted Valparaiso (13-5, 3-1 Horizon) to its third straight conference win, the last two coming on the road. Broekhoff notched his second consecutive double-double after a 21-point, 10-rebound game on Wednesday.

The Australian hit the first of career-high seven three-pointers came just four seconds into the game as Valparaiso never trailed at Milwaukee (4-13, 0-3 Horizon). The three-pointer sparked a 12-2 run that gave the Crusaders a double-digit lead just shy of the first media timeout.

The Panthers struggled to get open shots, particularly in the first half. The Crusaders defense limited the Panthers to 29 percent shooting in the first half and 34 percent for the game.

Despite the cold shooting, the Panthers trailed by just five points with 4:19 remaining in the first half. Up 21-16, Will Bogan drained a three to send the Crusaders on 12-4 run to close the half. Bogan had missed eight consecutive three-point attempts across two games before sparking Valparaiso.

The second half scoring commenced in familiar fashion with Broekhoff knocking down another triple. Erik Buggs’ transition layup capped an 8-0 Crusaders run to start the final 20 minutes. The run forced a Milwaukee timeout as the Crusaders opened up their largest lead at 41-20.

The Crusaders continued distancing themselves in the second half. A Bogan three-pointer with 6:59 remaining helped the Crusaders claim the game’s largest advantage at 64-38. The senior guard finished with eight points in a game that featured scoring from nine different Crusaders.

Three other Crusaders reached double figures on the afternoon – Matt Kenneyscored 11 points and grabbed five boards while Kevin Van Wijkscored 12 points and LaVonte Dorityadded 10 points off the bench.

The Panthers saw three players reach double digits, including their leading scorer, Paris Gulley, who contributed 18 points and five caroms. Demetrius Harris added 14 points and Jordan Aaron finished with 10.

Valpo also collected a season-high eight blocks, including three apiece for Broekhoff and Kenney.

Valparaiso will wrap its three-game road swing at Detroit on Thursday, Jan. 17, with ESPNU televising the game at 7 p.m. EST.

Green Bay 53, UIC 47
Junior Alec Brown recorded his finest effort of the season, finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots to lead Green Bay to a 53-47 win over visiting UIC at the Resch Center.

Green Bay (8-9, 2-2 Horizon) won its fifth straight game at home with another dominant defensive effort. In those five wins, the Phoenix are allowing just 47.4 points per game to the opposition, holding all of them to 55 points or less.

During its winning streak at the Resch Center, Green Bay has held opponents to just 47.4 points per game and a shooting percentage of just 33.8 percent. Brown is averaging 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting 52.7 percent in that stretch.

Green Bay led for much of the first half, and the game was tied 26-26 at the half, but the hosts struggled offensively in the second half and trailed 43-40 with 4:48 to play after Daniel Barnes hit a pair of free throws.

However, layups from Brennan Cougill and freshman Jordan Fousepreceded a three-point play from Brown, spurring a game-closing 13-4 run.

After starting the game 9-of-18 at the free-throw line, the Phoenix went 7-for-7 from the charity stripe to close out the game. Brown went 5-of-5 from the line in the final minutes and finished the game with a season-high 21 points. The All-Horizon League First-Team selection hit 6-of-13 shots from the field, including 2-of-3 from long range, and connected on 7-of-8 from the line.

Brown had six of his eight rebounds in the second half as Green Bay held a 17-11 edge on the glass. After UIC collected six offensive rebounds for nine second-chance points in the first 20 minutes, the Flames were unable to get an offensive board after intermission.

Keifer Sykes, stymied by UIC’s defensive effort, finished with just seven points but tied a career high with seven rebounds and added five assists compared to only one turnover in 38 minutes. Fellow Chicago native Greg Mays added seven rebounds to his five points as the Phoenix improved to 7-0 against teams from the Windy City in the past two seasons.

Brown, the rebounding and Green Bay’s defense made the different in the win. UIC shot just 34 percent (16-of-47) from the field for the game and became the fourth Phoenix opponent during the home winning streak to score 47 or fewer points.

UIC limited Green Bay to 36.2-percent shooting in the loss, the second for the Flames in League play by two possessions or fewer. Gary Talton was the lone Flames player to reach double figures, finishing with 11 points.

Green Bay will continue its homestand on Thursday, Jan. 17, hosting Youngstown State at 8 p.m. EST. ESPN3 will carry the game. UIC will welcome intra-city rival Loyola to the Pavilion at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 16.

Cleveland State 74, Detroit 62
Freshman Bryn Forbes scored a career-high 21 points as Cleveland State sent Detroit to its first loss in Horizon League play, 74-62, at the Wolstein Center.

Forbes tied a Vikings freshman record with five three-pointers in the game, finishing 6-of-12 overall and 5-of-7 from three-point range.

Cleveland State (10-8, 2-2 Horizon) led the entire game, jumping out to a 16-7 lead and never letting Detroit (11-6, 3-1 Horizon) within 10 points down the stretch.

The Vikings shot 51.9 percent from the floor while limiting the Titans to a 23-of-54 effort, holding Detroit almost 18 points below their season scoring average.

The first half belonged to Forbes who scored 19 points to give CSU a 43-35 lead at the intermission. The 43 points tied CSU's best offensive output of the first half this season. The Vikings also scored 43 in the season opening win over Grambling.

The freshman hit his first four three-point attempts, finishing 5-of-6 in the first 20 minutes.

CSU jumped out to an 18-8 lead six minutes in and would not trail the entire half. The Titans did claw back within two (22-20) with 10:13 to play and after the teams traded baskets, Forbes hit a three-pointer and Tim Kamczyc followed with a jumper to extend the lead back to 36-27 with 5:49 left in the half.

Detroit got back within 40-35, but Forbes' fifth three-pointer of the half with nine seconds left allowed the Vikings to take their fifth lead of the season into the locker room.

Detroit was able to get back within six points on numerous occasions early in the second half, but an 11-3 CSU run over a seven minute stretch gave the Vikings a 58-44 lead with 10:27 to play on consecutive baskets by Marlin Mason.

The Titans hurt themselves at the free throw line, missing 19-of-32 attempts. CSU was 10-of-16 and also held a 39-34 advantage on the boards.

Forbes also registered a career-best eight rebounds. Kamczyc scored 15 points, while Sebastian Douglas tallied 11 points. Devon Long added eight points and four rebounds, with Mason chipping in nine points and five rebounds.

Ray McCallum led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, but was one of several Titans afflicted at the free-throw line, going 4-of-11. Nick Minnerath posted a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double to join McCallum in double figures.

CSU is back in action on Thursday, Jan. 17, when the Vikings play at Milwaukee at 8 p.m. EST. Detroit will host Valparaiso that evening at 7 p.m. EST.