Men's Basketball Second Round Tonight at Valpo

Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (March 8)

Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket

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Men's Basketball Tournament Second Round (All times EST)
No. 6 Youngstown State vs. No. 3 Wright State -- 6 p.m., HLN
No. 4 Green Bay vs. No. 5 UIC -- 8:30 p.m., HLN

VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Four teams, two games and a pair of winners advancing to Saturday's semifinal round of the Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship.

Those are the stakes for tonight's second round at Valparaiso's Athletics-Recreation Center as No. 3 Wright State sees its first action of the tournament after a first round bye and No. 4 Green Bay, No. 5 UIC and No. 6 Youngstown State try to build off first round wins on their respective home courts.

No. 1 Valparaiso and No. 2 Detroit both earned byes into the semifinal round and await tonight's winners.

Tonight's first game pits Youngstown State against Wright State in an Ohio-centric matchup. The Raiders, having secured the No. 3 seed on the last day of the regular season, will be looking to take advantage of some extra rest thanks to their first round bye. The Penguins, meanwhile, advanced to tonight's second round in dramatic fashion, beating Loyola 62-60 on DJ Cole's jumper just seconds before the final buzzer.

Cole scored 13 points in the win for the Penguins, who we playing without star guard Kendrick Perry. Perry has missed four straight games with a leg injury.

Blake Allen and Kamren Belin paced Youngstown State with 15 points apiece while Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year Damian Eargle added 10 points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots, a single-game Horizon League Tournament record.

During the regular season, Youngstown State and Wright State split their matchups, each winning at home. The Penguins picked up a eight-point win at the Beeghly Center on Jan. 23, led by 18 points from Eargle, Allen's 17 points and 14 from Perry. Jerran Young led Wright State with 18 points off the bench in the loss, the only Raider to score in double-figures.

Wright State got revenge at the Nutter Center on March 2, running away with a 72-45 win as Young, this time in the starting lineup, led the Raiders with 14 points and Matt Vest chipped in 11. Eargle was the only Penguin in double-digits in the loss, tossing in 11 points.

This is the first time Youngstown State and Wright State have met in the Horizon League Tournament. The game will be streamed on HLN and ESPN3, along with television coverage via ESPN Full Court, SportsTime Ohio, MyYTV (Youngstown) and Comcast Detroit.

Tonight's second matchup features No. 4 Green Bay against No. 5 UIC.

The Phoenix beat regional-rival Milwaukee 62-46 in the first round on Tuesday night, led by Second Team All-Horizon Leaguer Alec Brown's 18 points while First Teamer Keifer Sykes added 16 points and All-Newcomer honoree Jordan Fouse filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

UIC advanced to the second round by picking up an 82-59 win over visiting Cleveland State on Tuesday.  The Flames had five players score in double-figures, led by All-Newcomer honoree Josh Crittle's game-high 20 points to go with six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Daniel Barnes poured in 16 points with eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks and Second Team All-Horizon Leaguer Gary Talton added 11 points and five assists while Hayden Humes and Marc Brown each added 10.

Like YSU and WSU, Green Bay and UIC also split their regular season series, each winning at home.

The Phoenix picked up a 53-47 victory at the Resch Center on Jan. 12, led by a game-high 21 points from Brown, the only Green Bay player in double-digits. Likewise, the Flames were paced by 11 points from Talton, the only Flame in double-digits.

UIC recovered with a three-point win at the Pavilion on Jan. 31, led by Humes' 18 points. Crittle added 15 points and nine rebounds while Talton scored 10 points and had four steals. In the loss, Sykes scored 18 points with four assists for Green Bay while senior Brennan Cougill added 11 points and Greg Mays poured in 10.

This is the second meeting between Green Bay and UIC in the Horizon League Tournament; the Phoenix picked up a 10-point win over UIC during the second round of the 2006 iteration in Milwaukee. The two teams also split a pair of postseason matchups prior to both teams entering the Horizon League.

Tonight's game will be streamed on and ESPN3, along with television coverage via ESPN Full Court, SportsTime Ohio, MyYTV (Youngstown) and Comcast Detroit.

The Youngstown State-Wright State winner will take on No. 2 Detroit at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, while No. 1 Valparaiso will host the Green Bay-UIC victor at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.