Valpo Rallies from Halftime Deficit for Road Victory

Men's Basketball Scoreboard (Dec. 20)
Valparaiso 75, IPFW 72
Pittsburgh 81, Oakland 77 (OT)
Rhode Island 69, Detroit 55
SIU Edwardsville 61, Milwaukee 56

Valparaiso 75, IPFW 72
After going scoreless in the first half, sophomore Alec Peters (Washington, Ill./Washington) exploded for 23 second-half points, leading Valparaiso as it rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit for a 75-72 win at IPFW on Saturday night to improve to 11-2 on the year

Peters attempted just one first-half shot – an attempt which came right before the halftime buzzer – as he was plagued by foul trouble, playing just nine minutes and picking up three fouls.  But the sophomore flipped the script in the second half, going 8-of-13 from the field, including a 4-of-7 effort from the 3-point line, and 3-of-4 from the foul line.  Peters’ 23 points in the second period were the most points by a Crusader over the final 20 minutes since Brandon Wood dropped 23 second-half points on Detroit in the 2011 Horizon League Championship.

Peters had plenty of help on Saturday from junior Keith Carter (Maywood, Ill./Proviso East [Saint Louis]), who continued his strong play this season.  Carter finished with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, draining all four of his 3-point attempts.  The junior also maintained his spot among the league leaders in assists, tying for team-high honors with four helpers, and matched his career best with four steals as well.  Senior Vashil Fernandez (Kingston, Jamaica/Princeton Day [Md.] Academy) stood out on the defensive end, tying his season high and coming up just one short of a career high as he blocked six shots.

Trailing 42-33 at the half, the Crusaders went immediately inside to Peters to start the second half, as he scored seven seconds into the period.  The next two possessions saw made 3-pointers from Carter and freshman Tevonn Walker (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier College) as Valpo continued to close the gap.  Two trips later, Peters connected on a 3-pointer, followed by a Carter alley-oop to Fernandez for a two-handed slam to cap a quick 13-3 run and give the Crusaders a 46-45 lead with 16:33 to play.

But both at that point, and then a couple minutes later when a short jumper from Peters gave Valpo another one-point edge, IPFW responded with a spurt of its own to regain the lead.  Following the latter basket, the Mastodons scored six straight points to go ahead 55-50 with 12:18 remaining.  Over the next six minutes, the lead wouldn’t vary much at all, as every time the Crusaders cut it to a one-possession game, the Mastodons responded with points of their own.

A pair of Brent Calhoun free throws with 6:28 to play made it 62-57 IPFW, but Valpo would finally make a run stick to take the lead and hold on to it.  Walker hit Peters for a 3-pointer with 6:15 remaining to cut the deficit to two points, and following an IPFW turnover, the duo teamed up again just eight seconds into the ensuing possession as Peters connected on a triple to give Valpo the 63-62 lead.

On the defensive end, Fernandez registered his sixth block of the night to instigate a fast break, one which Carter finished on a putback of his own miss to make it a three-point edge.  IPFW’s Max Landis connected on a second-chance 3-pointer on the Mastodons’ next trip to tie the game at 65-all, but two possessions later, Carter hit a step-back triple to return the lead to the Crusaders.  Another dunk from Fernandez and another 3-pointer by Peters made it a six-point lead at 73-67 with 2:24 to play.

IPFW would score the next five points, however, as a fast-break 3-point play by Isaiah McCray cut the lead to 73-72 with less than a minute remaining.  The Mastodons had a shot for the lead after a Crusader miss, but the Valpo defense got hands in the passing lane and Carter came up with a steal.  After a pair of fouls to get the Crusaders to the bonus, Peters coolly knocked down two free throws with ten seconds remaining, and IPFW’s last shot was off the mark.

IPFW led from the start, quickly pulling ahead 14-5 less than six minutes into the game.  Valpo would score 18 of the next 26 points, capped by a Carter 3-pointer, to take a brief lead at 23-22 with 8:22 left in the half, but the Mastodons responded with the next five points to re-gain the advantage.  IPFW knocked down 3-pointers on each of its final two possessions of the first half, capping a half in which it went 8-of-13 from 3-point range and sending it into the locker room with a 42-33 edge.

Peters and Carter were the only two Crusaders in double figures, but the other three starters – Fernandez, Walker and junior Darien Walker (Chicago, Ill./Simeon [John A. Logan/Arizona Western]) – all finished with eight points apiece.  Valpo connected on a season-best 13 3-pointers – its sixth game with at least ten triples this year – and hit at a 52% clip from downtown.  Junior E. Victor Nickerson (Atlanta, Ga./Norcross [Charlotte]) tallied a team-best six rebounds, while Tevonn Walker handed out four assists to share team-high honors with Carter.

IPFW (6-4), which was dealt its first home loss of the season, placed all five starters in double figures, led by 17 points from McCray, who hit four 3-pointers.  Mo Evans led all players with seven rebounds and also handed out five assists.  The Mastodons lost despite shooting 50% both overall and from 3-point range, but the Crusaders limited IPFW to just 2-of-7 shooting from deep in the final 20 minutes.

Pittsburgh 81, Oakland 77 (OT)
James Robinson scored 18 points, including five in the final minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime, to help Pittsburgh avoid an upset by beating Oakland 81-77 on Saturday.

Michael Young led Pitt (8-3) with 19 points and seven rebounds while Cameron Wright and Chris Jones each scored 16.

Kahlil Felder finished with 23 points to lead Oakland (4-8).

Felder kept his team ahead throughout the first half, scoring 14 points in the game's first 20 minutes. He put the Golden Grizzlies ahead 22-15 with a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run, then gave his team a 29-21 lead with another with three minutes left in the half.

Jalen Hayes scored 16 and Max Hooper added 12 off the bench.

The Panthers closed the first period on a 12-5 run to cut their deficit to a point, 34-33, capped by a tic-tac-toe inbounds play from Wright to Jones to Young for a buzzer-beating jumper to end the half.

Out of the half, the teams traded baskets as neither team led by more than four points through the first 11 minutes of the half. The game featured seven ties and 23 lead changes.

Pitt took a 59-55 lead at the 11-minute mark but the Golden Grizzlies reclaimed the lead at 61-59 with 9:05 left in the game on a putback by Dante Williams. The basket was part of a 13-2 run, giving them a 68-61 edge with 5:25 left.

The Panthers managed to tie the game again at 72 in the final minutes after Robinson converted a three-point play on a drive to the basket then made a pair of free throws. After Felder was called for a travel, Wright missed a midrange jumper as time expired to send the game to overtime.

Rhode Island 69, Detroit 55
Senior forward Juwan Howard Jr. scored a team-high 17 points, but it wasn't enough as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team dropped it third-straight game 69-55 against Rhode Island on Saturday at the Ryan Center.

The Titans (6-6) led at halftime 36-34, but a second half surge from Rhode Island (7-3) served to be to much to overcome as Detroit dropped it second game of its eight day road trip covering more than 7,000 miles.

Howard finished with 17 points – 13 in the first half – seven rebounds and three steals, while freshman Paris Bass added nine points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. Junior guard Carlton Brundidge pitched in eight points, while sophomore Chris Jenkins scored a season-high seven.

Rhode Island scored the first six points of the game, before Howard poured in his first five points, including a 3-pointer from the right corner, to make the score 8-5 heading into the first media timeout. The Rams would stretch their lead back to six, 14-8, with 13 minutes left, before Detroit used a 12-6 run, capped off by back-to-back layups from Anton Wilson to tie the score at 20. Rhode Island would retake the lead 23-20 with 8:04 remaining before the Titans put together a 12-3 run to take the lead 32-26 at the under four minute media timeout. But the Rams were able to close the half with an 8-4 run, including four-straight points from E.C. Matthews to trim Detroit's lead to 36-34 during intermission. Howard led all scorers in the first half with 13 points, while Jenkins and Wilson had six apiece.

Detroit was able to stretch its lead to four, 40-36, to begin the second half, before Rhode Island used an 11-0 run to take the a lead it would it would not relinquish. A layup from Bass trimmed the lead to five, 47-42, with 15:07 left, but that was as close as the score would get as the Rams closed the game with a 22-13 run, including a stretch of eight-straight free throws to secure the win.

Rhode Island only made eight baskets in the second half, but connected on 17-of-21 free throw attempts. For the game the Rams finished 26-of-34 from the charity stripe.

Detroit, which shot 50 percent (13-of-26) in the first half, finished the game shooting 35.2 percent (19-of-54) overall, while holding Rhode Island to 37.3 percent (19-of-51) overall, just 30 percent (8-of-26) in the second half. Detroit also won the battle of the boards 37-36 and forced 13 turnovers, including eight steals.

SIU Edwardsville 61, Milwaukee 56
Host SIU Edwardsville (2-7) shot 60 percent from the field in the second half and held on for a 61-56 victory over visiting University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (5-7) tonight at Vadalabene Center. Despite the loss, the Panthers controlled the boards, outrebounding the Cougars, 46-37.

"SIUE is a scrappy team and they made plays down the stretch and we didn't so you have to give them credit," Milwaukee Head Coach Rob Jeter said. "We had opportunities and just didn't make plays."

The first half was a struggle for both teams as Milwaukee hit just 9 of 30 shots (30 percent) while SIUE knocked down 32 percent (10-for-31) of its tries from the field in a tightly contested opening 20 minutes.

Neither team led by more than four points in the opening period, but Matt Tiby's continued solid play kept the Panthers afloat despite their shooting misfortunes. The 6-foot-8 junior forward totaled eight points, five boards and a block in the opening period and also drained all four of his charity tosses.

Akeem Springs' three-point from the corner at the 16:26 mark of the second half was Milwaukee's first of the game and gave the Panthers a 35-29 lead, their largest of the night to that point.

After the Cougars rallied to tie the game at 37, the Panthers rattled off six consecutive points in a minute-and-a-half span, courtesy of buckets by Tiby, J.J. Panoske and Justin Jordan, to take a 43-37 lead. That lead would be short-lived however, as SIUE used a 10-2 run punctuated by a basket by Rozell Nunn, to take a 47-45 lead.

Tiby countered with a big three-pointer, his first of the night, to put Milwaukee back on top, but Donivine Stewart scored six points as part of an 8-0 run that gave SIUE a 55-48 lead. The Cougars' inability to hit free throws down the stretch allowed Milwaukee to hang around and when Steve McWhorter hit a three-pointer with nine seconds left, it brought the Panthers within three at 59-56. But, Maurice Wiltz, who scored a team-high 13 points along with Kris Davis, knocked down a pair of free throws one second later to seal the outcome.

Tiby continued his solid play this month by producing a team-high 16 points and he narrowly missed out on a double-double by hauling in nine rebounds for Milwaukee, which shot just 32 percent from the field and 14 percent from the three-point stripe. Panoske added 12 points and six boards and McWhorter notched his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with four steals.