Vikings, Crusaders Headed to Semifinals After Friday Night Wins

2011 Men's Basketball Championship Bracket

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Cleveland State and Valparaiso continued to keep the Horizon League Championship chalk on Friday, advancing to the semifinals with victories over Wright State and Detroit, respectively.  The Vikings knocked off the Raiders, 73-59, before the Crusaders used a tournament-record 15 three-pointers to post an 88-78 win over the Titans.

Valparaiso (23-10) needed each and every one of the long-distance attempts, as seven came in the second half from First Team All-League member Brandon Wood, who posted a game-high 30 in the 10-point win.  It was the triples that enabled the Crusaders to take their first lead of the night, coming from Matt Kenney with 5:35 to play in the first half, and hold off a game Detroit squad for the remainder.

The Titans were never able to get over the hump, despite trailing by one or two possessions for most of the second half.  It was turnovers that did Detroit in, as down 74-72 with 3:43 to play, consecutive miscues helped the Crusaders put the game away.  Wood's sixth triple of the half put Valpo up five, and his final attempt from long range effectively sealed the game with 1:48 to play, giving the Crusaders an 81-72 advantage.

Nick Minnerath and Eli Holman led the way for Detroit (17-16), with Minnerath recording a team-best 22 points and Holman recording his 24th double-double in a Titans uniform with 12 points and 11 boards.  Five Titans finished in double figures, as Jason Calliste came off the bench to post 14 points.  Chris Blake and Ray McCallum had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Valpo reaches the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship for the first time since 2007-08 and will meet top-seeded Milwaukee at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPNU.

Cleveland State (26-7) will take on No. 2 seed Butler in the day's early game (6 p.m. ET) after coming to life midway through the second half of a 73-59 victory.  After being held to two points over the game's first 25 minutes, Norris Cole's 13 points in the final nine minutes helped spur the closing burst.

Wright State (19-14) was within two possessions in the waning minutes before Cole came to life to help the Vikings pull away.  The senior's drive and dish pushed a four-point lead to six, and the Horizon League Player of the Year then knocked down a pair of free throws to grow the advantage to eight.  Vaughn Duggins came right back for Wright State, but Cole scored four straight points as CSU built its lead to 11.

This time, it was Cole showing why he was the Defensive Player of the Year, coming away with a steal and layup to put the Vikings ahead by 15.  The senior capped the run with a three, deciding the result.

Early, it was Jeremy Montgomery who led the way, finishing with a game-high 16.  Trevon Harmon had 14 for the Vikings, with Josh McCoy adding a spark off the bench with 12.

Vaughn Duggins, Troy Tabler and Cooper Land wrapped up a career in which Wright State established itself as one of the League's top teams, reaching the 10-win mark in League play in five straight seasons.  Duggins moved into third on the Raider scoring ledger with 12 points, while Tabler matched his classmate.