Horizon League Scoreboard:
Loyola Marymount 61, Valparaiso 53
Junior Ryan Broekhoff scored 16 points on Friday evening, the 15th of which made him the 31st player in Crusader basketball history to reach 1,000 career points, but it was not enough as Valparaiso fell to Loyola Marymount, 61-53, in the Sears BracketBusters X event in Los Angeles.
Broekhoff surpassed the 1,000-point milestone with a 3-pointer with 13:08 to play, the second of back-to-back triples which cut Loyola Marymount’s lead to two points at 40-38. That would be the junior’s last point of the night, however, as he ended the night 5-of-8 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from downtown. Junior Richie Edwards then followed an LMU basket with a triple of his own, Valpo’s third straight 3-pointer to cut the lead to 42-41 with 12:27 remaining.
But that would be the Crusaders’ final point for a stretch of over six minutes, as LMU went on a 10-0 run over the span to push its lead into double figures at 52-41. A putback by junior Ben Boggs ended the Lions’ spurt, but Valpo would only be able to get as close as seven points on two occasions down the stretch.
Valparaiso (19-10) left leading scorer Kevin Van Wijk at home to ensure the big man's readiness for next week's two game homestand. The Crusaders return home to the ARC for its final two regular season Horizon League games next week, starting with an 8:05 p.m. ET tip on Tuesday against Loyola. With a win, the Crusaders would secure at least a share of the league regular season title and would be guaranteed to host the quarterfinals and semifinals of the upcoming Horizon League Championship.
Friday night's game got off to an inauspicious start for the Crusaders, as Loyola Marymount (18-10) scored the game’s first eight points over the opening 3:20. In fact, Valpo went to its bench to get its first basket, a 3-pointer by Edwards 3:49 into the ballgame, and then it took nearly four more minutes to get its next bucket, a mid-range jumper from sophomore Jay Harris which cut the deficit to 11-5.
While the Crusaders were able to score just nine points in the first 12-plus minutes of the game, adding layups by Broekhoff and redshirt junior Erik Buggs, their defense kept them in the game, limiting LMU to just 18 points over that same time frame. Valpo then quickly erased most of the deficit, as a 3-point play by Edwards, a pair of free throws from Broekhoff and a 3-pointer by redshirt junior Will Bogan cut the lead to 18-17 with 5:47 to go in the half.
The teams would trade baskets most of the rest of the way in the opening 20 minutes, with LMU taking a 26-23 lead into the locker room. Coming out for the second half, a 3-pointer by Broekhoff was the only dent in an opening run by the Lions, who opened up a 36-26 advantage just three minutes into the period. Back-to-back triples by Harris helped keep Valpo in the game, as the Crusaders’ first six baskets of the second half were all 3-pointers, culminating with Edwards’ 3-pointer which cut the lead to one prior to the decisive LMU spurt.
Edwards scored a team-high 17 points for the Crusaders while playing 28 minutes off the bench, going 6-of-11 from the floor while also grabbing five rebounds. In his last four games, Edwards is averaging 18.8 points per game.
Anthony Ireland led Loyola Marymount (18-10) across the board, as the Lions’ point guard ended the night with team-high totals of 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Ashley Hamilton added 12 points and five rebounds as well. LMU enjoyed a large advantage on the boards, out-rebounding Valpo by a 37-23 margin, including 13 offensive caroms.
