Men's Basketball Scoreboard (Dec. 29)
Valparaiso 79, James Madison 52
#rv/rv VCU 72, Cleveland State 63
Valparaiso 79, James Madison 52
The Valparaiso men’s basketball team closed the non-league portion of its 2014-15 schedule with a sterling effort at James Madison, limiting the Dukes to their worst shooting performance in program history in a 79-52 win in Harrisonburg, Va. on Monday evening. The win lifts the Crusaders’ road/neutral record to 8-1 on the season and sends Valpo into the Horizon League slate at 13-2.
The defensive tone was set from the very first possession, as junior Darien Walker (Chicago, Ill./Simeon [John A. Logan/Arizona Western]) and senior Vashil Fernandez (Kingston, Jamaica/Princeton Day [Md.] Academy) each blocked JMU shots before junior Keith Carter (Maywood, Ill./Proviso East [Saint Louis]) took a charge. The Crusaders allowed just two field goals over the first 11 minutes of the game to James Madison, limited the Dukes to just 17.9% shooting (5-of-28) in the first half and held JMU under 30% in the second half as well. For the game, James Madison shot just 23.6% (13-of-55) and made just four baskets in the paint.
Valpo took the lead and never relinquished it on a driving layup from freshman Tevonn Walker (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier College) on its second possession, followed one trip later by an emphatic slam dunk from Fernandez. Walker would can a 3-pointer on the fast break to push the lead to 7-2 before the first media timeout. Following the media stoppage, sophomore Alec Peters (Washington, Ill./Washington) scored on each of the next two trips before a runner in the lane from junior E. Victor Nickerson (Atlanta, Ga./Norcross [Charlotte]) made it 13-2 Crusaders seven minutes into the game.
James Madison scored the next five points to close to within 13-7 with 11 minutes to play in the half, but that was as close as the Dukes would get, as the Crusaders went on a 24-6 run over the next ten minutes of action. Carter scored seven of Valpo’s first nine points of the spurt in a four-possession span and added another fast-break basket later in the spurt, while Peters scored five points during the run as well. Fifth-year senior David Chadwick (Charlotte, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy [Rice]) capped the run with a 3-pointer with 1:35 to go in the half off a feed from Darien Walker, and following a JMU 3-pointer, Chadwick canned another triple off a Walker pass to give Valpo a 40-16 lead at the half.
The first 15 seconds of the second half was like a microcosm of the Crusaders’ season to date, as Fernandez blocked a shot, Peters grabbed the rebound and then drained a 3-pointer off a pass from Carter to push the lead to 27 points. The lead reached 30 points for the first time with 12:34 to play on a putback from Chadwick. Later in the half, after JMU had cut the advantage to 62-36 with less than ten minutes remaining, Fernandez converted a tip dunk, followed one trip later by another Peters triple to again extend the lead above 30 points. Sophomore Nick Davidson (Munster, Ind./Andrean) added eight late points as well for a new career high.
Peters posted his second double-double of the season and third of his career, matching his season average with 19 points while also grabbing a game-high ten rebounds. Carter went 5-of-7 from the floor for 13 points and also tallied five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals without committing a turnover. Tevonn Walker added 12 points in the winning effort.
Peters’ ten boards led the way on the glass as the Crusaders out-paced JMU on the boards, 48-38 – the eighth time this year Valpo has owned a double-digit rebounding edge. Fernandez added seven rebounds to go with six points and four blocked shots, while Darien Walker grabbed five rebounds as well. Darien Walker also recorded a new career best, dishing out seven assists as the Crusaders tallied assists on 16 of 29 baskets while committing just six turnovers.
#rv/rv VCU 72, Cleveland State 63
Vinny Zollo and Aaron Scales combined for 22 points and 18 rebounds off the bench, but Cleveland State dropped its final game of the 2014 calendar year, 72-63, at VCU on Monday night at the Siegel Center.
CSU falls to 6-8 overall, while VCU is now 10-3.
Zollo scored a career-high 14 points, including a 4-of-6 effort from three-point, and added nine rebounds, while Scales produced eight points and nine rebounds off the bench. Six of the boards were on the offensive end.
Trey Lewis and Charlie Lee both scored 15 points, while Lee added four assists.
Treveon Graham led all scorers with 20 points and added nine rebounds.
"I thought our guys fought hard tonight, especially in a great environment" head coach Gary Waters said. "But we didn't execute at times and didn't hit a good percentage. They work very hard on defense and make you work hard on the offensive end to find a good shot."
The Rams raced out to a quick 12-0 lead less than five minutes in, but the Vikings battled back, tying the contest at 22-22 on a free throw by Anton Grady with 6:46 left in the half. The Vikings used the three-pointer to rally, hitting five in the first half, including three by Zollo to claw back.
A three-pointer by Terry Larrier with 41 seconds to play in the half gave the Rams a five-point advantage (32-27) at the break.
The Rams scored 11 of the first 14 points of the second half to open a 43-30 lead, hitting four of their first six shots, including a pair of three-pointers. The Vikings got back within 10 points (50-40) on another Zollo three-pointer midway through the second half, but a 10-2 VCU run over the next three minutes allowed the Rams to build a 60-42 advantage.
A three-pointer from Lewis sliced CSU's deficit back to single digits (67-58) with 2:31 to play, but the Vikings could not close the game any further.
Tags: Horizon League - Men's Basketball · Valparaiso - Men's Basketball
