Valparaiso, IN (Sports Network) - The top-seeded Valparaiso Crusaders take aim
at their first-ever Horizon League Tournament title, as they play take on the
Wright State Raiders in the championship game on Tuesday at the Athletics-
Recreation Center.
The Crusaders swept Wright State during the regular season by a combined 10
points. On Jan. 19, Valpo won 69-63 at the ARC led by a double-double by
Broekhoff, who scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Kevin Van Wijk
also scored 18 points while Matt Kenney added 15 with six assists. In the
loss, Cole Darling scored a game-high 22 points for Wright State while Reggie
Arceneaux added 14. Van Wijk was at it again in the second meeting at Wright
State, netting 20 points in a 68-61 victory.
The Crusaders claimed their first Horizon League regular-season title a season
ago, winning the crown by two games. They were unable to translate that
success into the conference tourney and ended up in the NIT instead of the Big
Dance. It looked like Valpo was headed for another undesired trip to the NIT
Tournament as it trailed Green Bay by two points with just seconds remaining
on Saturday in the semifinals. Ryan Broekhoff drilled a 3-pointer as time
expired to send the Crusaders back to the championship game. Broekhoff's
clutch 2-pointere helped the Crusaders improve 15-2 at home this season.
Broekhoff (16.2 ppg) is not only the top rebounder for Valpo with 7.4 rpg, he
is also first on the squad with 44.0 percent shooting behind the 3-point line,
adding 66 assists and 25 blocked shots for good measure. Van Wijk checks in
with 12.8 ppg and 5.3 rpg to form a very tough front line. Lavonte Dority and
Matt Kenney are valuable role players for Bryce Drew, who was named the HL
Coach of the Year after his team's stellar performance. Although Valpo is
hosting the title game, it was in the same situation last season before it was
upset by Detroit.
Wright State was picked to finish last in the HL preseason polls, but Billy
Donlon's squad used the predictions as bulletin board material and enters
Tuesday with a 21-11 overall record, which included a solid 10-6 mark in-
conference, good enough for the third-seed in this event. Wright State punched
its ticket to the finals on Saturday with a 56-54 win over Detroit, marking
its third straight victory.
Miles Dixon netted 14 points, including the game-winning jumper in the waning
seconds in the second round. It marked the second consecutive 14-point outing
for Dixon, who will be in line for the HL Tournament MVP award if the Raiders
manage to escape Valparaiso with a win. Also getting into the mix, Jerran
Young added 12 points and six rebounds for the Raiders. A championship run is
going to be difficult for the Raiders who are even bigger underdogs without
their leading scorer Cole Darling, who is still unavailable due to a foot
injury.
Without Darling, the Raiders shot 52.4 percent from the floor and 5-of-9 from
3-point range against Detroit. Wright State did a tremendous job defensively
as it held the Titans' star players Ray McCallum and Nick Minnerath to a
combined 3-of-16 from the field. WSU won the rebounding battle, 27-21, to
overcome its 17 turnovers.
The Sports Network