Valparaiso's BIG win in OT Secures 1st Round Home Game in Horizon League Tourney!

Valparaiso's Crusaders in their first year in the Horizon League made it known, they are a team to reckon with. Not only did they defeat a talented Wright State team that won the Conference last year, they SECURED an opportunity to Host this upcoming Tuesday (3/4/08) a First Round Horizon Tournament Game! Congratulations Valparaiso University Crusaders you had a GREAT regular season, finishing up 9-9 and 19-12 Overall.

NOW IT IS TIME FOR MARCH MADNESS !

Back to the game.Valpo started off HOT, hitting 8 out of 16 from behind the three point line to secure a huge 13 point half-time lead 39-26. BUT, as it has been all year long, the halftime talk did very little. Actually, it did nothing at all, as they played flat as could be in the second half and let the lead dissipate over the first 12 minutes. Wright State started hitting everything they were throwing towards the hoop! It went back and forth until the remaining 3 minutes of the game. At the final second, Urule Igbavoda's shot rolled off the rim with no time left in regulation. We were once again heading to overtime for the 3rd straight home game!

The over time was intense! Valpo was soon up by 5, but before you knew it Wright State was up by 1 with 40 seconds to go. A missed shot by Valpo, but an offensive rebound was to give Valparaiso what looked like a last second try again. Time Out Valpo to set the play! Jarryd Loyd ran the motion offense and as he cut through the lane, was tripped. He somehow found a way to get the ball to Shawn Huff, who took it strong to the goal and as he was fouled, the ball somehow, someway by the Basketball Gods found its way into the bottom of the net!!! With his free throw attempt made, it gave Valparaiso a 75-73 lead with 1.6 seconds left. The ball was end court and thrown out of bounds by Wright State as time ran out. The Crusaders in front of a National Televised game on ESPN 2 and over 4900 screaming fans secured the BIG WIN!

This game was the shinning moment for Michael Rogers, a Freshman, who finished the game with a season and career high 21 points - 12 Rebounds and 2 Assists. His performance was absolutely an incredible thing to watch as he was smooth and clutch throughout the entire game, Oh, 5 for 8 from 3 point land ain't bad either! Jake Diebler once again showed his defensive skills, playing 41 of the 45 minutes. It was Shawn Huff, the Senior,  who had the "GIVE ME THE BALL' LOOK and that is exactly what Valpo did! Shawn scored all 8 of Valpo's Overtime points and finished the game with 17. Urule Igbavoda showed why he is the number 1 rebounder in the conference, finishing with 7 rebounds and 13 points. Valpo finished the game shooting 71% from the charity stripe, and, if you can believe this - Valpo attempted 36 shots from 3 point land and connected on 13 for 36.1%. Wright State's Todd Brown ended with 13 points as team high scorer, followed by 12 each from Jordan Pleiman and Will Graham.

So, it is now on to the Horizon League Conference Tournament.  It is 1 game at a time and it all starts Tuesday Evening, March 4th, 2008  at 7:00 pm CST at the ARC in Valparaiso, Indiana GO VU !

Editorial By Jeff Safrin

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