In front of the largest crowd to see a game at the ARC this season, 4939, Valparaiso continued to roll through the Horizon League with an 85-70 victory over UW-Green Bay (11-7, 4-2 HL). Unlike last year's tournament championship game, this one was a high-scoring, up-and-down game that featured plenty of offensive firepower (and plenty of missed shots). The teams combined to miss 77 shots, 29 for the Crusaders and 48 from the Phoenix, yet still managed to score 155 total points. Alec Peters found his shooting stroke after an off game against UW-Milwaukee, putting up a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Vashil Fernandez continued his monster run with a double-double of his own, tallying 13 points and 11 boards, as well as five blocks. The Crusader bench earned MVP honors, however, outscoring the Green Bay bench 32-7, led by Shane Hammink with 12 points and Darien Walker with 10. Valpo bounced back from a sub-.500 free throw effort on Thursday night by hitting 26-36 (.722) free throws. For Green Bay, both Carrington Love and Charles Cooper (from Gary, IN) tallied 22 points, but Cooper scored 15 points off of free throws (15-19, .790). Cooper alone made 15 of the 17 free throws hit by the Phoenix.
On Monday night, Valpo began the southern swing of the Horizon League with a game at Youngstown State (7-13, 2-5 HL). The Crusaders never trailed on the road, leading 30-14 at one point in the first half on the way to a 24-point halftime advantage, and cruising to a 96-65 victory over the Penguins. The 31-point margin of victory tied for Valpo's largest since joining the Horizon League, and the 96 points scored also set a league record for the Crusaders. Alec Peters went off, playing just 14 minutes (the least of any starter) but tallying a team-high 18 points, adding three rebounds and two assists. Vashil Fernandez, for the third game in a row, poured in double-digit points, picking up a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in a starter-high 21 minutes of action, adding three blocks. Darien Walker added a team-high 18 points and Jubril Adekoya scored 12 as every Crusader played at least four minutes. Most impressive for Valpo was the free throw shooting, shooting 18-19 (.947), a season best for the Crusaders. Cameron Morse scored a game-high 23 points for Youngstown State, while Jordan Andrews put in 12 and Bryce Nickels had 11 points off the bench.
In a battle for first place in the Horizon League, Valparaiso was defeated at Wright State (12-8, 6-1 HL) by a score of 73-62. Valpo led by three points at the half after the Raiders' Grant Benzinger hit a 70-foot buzzer beater to cut the Crusader lead to 25-22. Valpo would push the lead to nine early in the second half, but would give up that advantage down the stretch, last leading with 3:11 to go. The 11-point margin of victory was the largest lead for either team. Off the bench, Darien Walker led Valpo with 17 points, making five of six three pointers. Alec Peters tallied a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. After three straight games scoring in double digits, Vashil Fernandez scored just two, adding eight rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a block. For Wright State, Joe Thomasson led with 21 points, although 14 came on free throws. JT Yoho added 18 points in 35 minutes off the bench, while Mark Alstork scored 12. Wright State used just three players off the bench, and Valpo only four. With the Raiders' victory, the two teams are now tied on top of the Horizon League at 6-1 in the conference.
STANDINGS
| CONFERENCE | OVERALL | ||||
| W | L | W | L | ||
| Valparaiso | 6 | 1 | 16 | 4 | |
| Wright State | 6 | 1 | 12 | 8 | |
| Milwaukee | 5 | 2 | 14 | 6 | |
| Oakland | 4 | 3 | 12 | 8 | |
| Green Bay | 4 | 3 | 12 | 8 | |
| Detroit | 3 | 4 | 9 | 9 | |
| Northern Kentucky | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | |
| Youngstown State | 2 | 5 | 7 | 13 | |
| Cleveland State | 2 | 5 | 7 | 13 | |
| UIC | 0 | 7 | 2 | 16 | |
Valpo returns to action Sunday afternoon against the newest team in the Horizon League, the Northern Kentucky Norse. NKU started the transition of Division I in 2012, and is currently in the last season of transition. They will be ineligible to play in the Horizon League tournament.
-The Norse are currently 7-11, 3-4 in the Horizon League.
-NKU is coming off of last night's game against UIC, an 82-69 overtime victory. Cole Murray tallied 21 points to lead the Norse while hitting 7-8 three pointers. Northern Kentucky outscored the Flames 17-4 in overtime.
-Both teams faced IU Kokomo in non conference action. Valpo defeated the Cougars 78-40 in the Beaver Showcase, while Northern Kentucky picked up an 88-44 win.
-The Norse play at BB&T Arena, which seats 9400 for basketball. Their largest home crowd this season has been 2804, which came for a 60-46 loss to Wright State.
-The game will be televised on American Sports Network (CSN Chicago-Jeff McCarragher, Jan van Breda Kolff on the call) and ESPN3. It can be found on the radio at 95.1 FM (WVUR), being called by Todd Ickow and Aaron Leavitt.
-Sunday's game will be the first ever meeting between the two programs. They will also meet at the ARC on February 11.
-Valparaiso received 30 votes in this week's AP Top 25 poll. In the USA Today Coaches' Poll, the Crusaders received 16 votes.
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