Valparaiso (4-3, 0-0 Horizon)
Game #8/9 - Friday, Nov. 29/Saturday, Nov. 30- 7:05 p.m.
Friday - Mercer (4-3, 0-0 Atlantic Sun)
Saturday - Cincinnati Christian (5-3, 1-0 KIAC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.
Next Up in Crusader Basketball: Valparaiso takes aim at continuing its season-opening winning streak at the ARC this weekend as it hosts a pair of home games. The Crusaders will take on Mercer, which won 24 games last year and already owns a win over Seton Hall this season, on Friday evening before facing NAIA squad Cincinnati Christian on Saturday night.
Last Time Out: Valparaiso led wire-to-wire on Tuesday evening at the ARC, jumping out to a 20-7 lead less than eight minutes into the game en route to an 85-70 victory over UCF. Seven Crusaders scored at least eight points, with five of those finishing the night in double figures.
Following the Crusaders: Audio - Valpo Sports Radio Network (WVUR, 95.1 FM, Valparaiso; WEFM, 95.9 FM, Michigan City; WJOB, 1230 AM, Hammond [Saturday only]) - Todd Ickow (PxP) and David Huseman (Color)
Video - Horizon League Network
Links for the audio and video, as well as live stats, will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach Bryce Drew: Bryce Drew (52-23) is in his third season at the helm of the Valparaiso men’s basketball program in 2013-14. Over his first two-plus seasons, Drew has led the Crusaders to 52 victories, including a school-record 26 last season, as well as two Horizon League regular season titles and one tournament championship. The 2012 HL Coach of the Year, Drew ascended to the head coaching position on May 17, 2011 after spending six seasons as an assistant and associate head coach with the Crusaders.
Series Notes: Valparaiso has faced neither of this weekend’s opponents in program history. In fact, the Crusaders have never taken on any current Atlantic Sun Conference member. Valpo has one previous game against a Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference institution, the home conference of Cincinnati Christian. The Crusaders defeated IU Kokomo on Nov. 19, 2011 by a 79-48 score as part of the 2K Sports Classic at the ARC.
@ValpoBasketball...
...and the @HorizonLeague
- @ValpoBasketball has won the #HLMBB regular season title each of the last two years and claimed the tournament title last year.
- The Crusaders were picked to finish in sixth place in the league standings in 2013-14 in preseason polling.
- After having a pair of All-League honorees the last two years, Valpo was one of just two teams not to have a preseason All-League choice.
...looking back at last year
- @ValpoBasketball won its first #HLMBB tournament championship last year and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004.
- The Crusaders claimed their second straight Horizon League regular season title in 2012-13, going 13-3 in league play.
- Valpo earned a 14 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Michigan State in second round action, 65-54.
- The Crusaders set new program records for total wins (26), home wins (16) and Division I true road wins (10) last year.
- Ryan Broekhoff was a First Team All-League and All-Region honoree, while Kevin Van Wijk earned Second Team honors both places.
- LaVonte Dority was tabbed the Horizon League’s Sixth Man of the Year.
...looking ahead
- @ValpoBasketball plays its only true road game in a stretch of over a month next Wednesday when the Crusaders travel to Ball State.
- Valpo then returns home to the ARC to face Saint Louis next Saturday.
...at the ARC
- @ValpoBasketball has 16 regular season home games scheduled for the ARC in 2013-14. #ValpoGameday
- The Crusaders set a new record for home victories in 2012-13, going 16-2 at the ARC last season.
- Valpo has opened the season with four straight home wins, defeating Murray State, North Park, James Madison and UCF.
- Over the last 19+ years, @ValpoBasketball owns a 226-50 (.819) record on its home court.
The Ohio Classic
- Friday and Saturday’s games mark the last two of four @ValpoBasketball will play as part of the Ohio Classic.
- In their previous two games in the event, the Crusaders lost on the road at Ohio (76-72) and Evansville (100-92).
- Valpo, Ohio, Evansville and Mercer each play the other three schools in the event, as well as hosting a non-D-I opponent.
Power Conference Win
- @ValpoBasketball led start-to-finish in its win over UCF last time out.
- The win over the Knights came in the Crusaders’ first meeting against a school from the newly-formed American Athletic Conference.
- The American is currently ranked seventh in the KenPom rankings, just behind the SEC.
- Valpo’s last win over a power-conference team came at Washington in March of 2008 in the opening round of the CBI.
Efficient Offense
- The Crusaders have been extremely efficient with their offensive possessions in each of their last three games.
- Last Wednesday at Evansville, Valpo averaged 1.23 points/possession, shooting 61.4% from the floor and 48% from 3-point range.
- Then, in the win over JMU, the Crusaders averaged 1.32 ppp and shot 58% from the field.
- The 1.32 ppp were the most against a D-I opponent since Valpo posted 1.39 ppp in a season-opening win over Georgia Southern last year.
- Last time out against UCF, the Crusaders posted 1.29 ppp, shooting 54.2% from the floor and 27-of-33 from the foul line.
Taking Advantage of Freebies
- @ValpoBasketball was a stellar 27-of-33 (81.2%) from the free throw line in the win last time out over UCF.
- In fact, the Crusaders have now shot better than 80% from the free throw line in three of their last four games and are at 74.6% on the season.
- Of the nine players who have attempted at least one FT/game, only one is shooting worse than 66.7% from the stripe.
Lopsided Wins
- @ValpoBasketball earned its largest win over a D-I school in nearly four years with its 81-49 win over James Madison.
- The 32-point win was the Crusaders’ largest against a D-I school since an identical 81-49 win over Toledo on Dec. 12, 2009.
- The 63-point win earlier this year over North Park was the fourth-largest margin of victory in @ValpoBasketball history.
- The Crusaders’ only bigger win since moving to Division I came in November of 2005, a 70-point win over IU-South Bend.
- The 113 points was the most scored by a Crusader squad since a 118-83 win over Chicago State in March of 1996.
- Valpo shot 70.2% (40-of-57) from the floor in the win over the Vikings, the team’s best single-game shooting pct. in at least 20 years.
Fastest to #50
- With the win over North Park, head coach Bryce Drew has won 50 games in his coaching career, needing just 70 games to get there.
- Drew is the ninth coach in @ValpoBasketball history to lead the Crusaders to at least 50 victories.
- Drew became the quickest Crusader coach to 50 wins, surpassing Loren Ellis and Gene Bartow, both of whom earned it in their 79th game.
Change to the Lineup
- For the first time this year, @ValpoBasketball ran out a different starting five against James Madison, a lineup which remained the same vs. UCF.
- Adekoya and Williams joined Peters, Dority and Gueye in the lineup.
- It marked the first time the Crusaders had started three freshmen since Dec. 9, 2009 at Purdue (Broekhoff, Kenney, Kurth).
- The Crusaders had used a starting lineup of Dority, Coleman, Peters, Capobianco and Gueye in their first five games.
- That starting five had started just five games combined in a Valpo uniform prior to this season - Dority 4 and Capobianco 1.
Freshmen Getting Minutes
- Valpo’s five freshmen have combined for 43.5% of the Crusaders’ total minutes played so far this season.
- Three of the five (Alec Peters, Lexus Williams, Clay Yeo) are averaging at least 18 minutes per game through six games.
- The freshmen combined for 87 minutes played last time out against James Madison.
Connecting From Inside
- @ValpoBasketball has ranked among the top-5 in the nation in 2-point pct. each of the last 3 years, hitting above 55% all 3 years.
- The Crusaders have ranked in the top-5 in the nation in 2-point pct. despite not having a starter taller than 6'8" during that stretch.
- Valpo is shooting at a 57.1% clip from inside the arc through this season’s first seven games, going 20-of-28 last time out against UCF.
Looking to Reload
- @ValpoBasketball enters this season with eight newcomers after losing seven players, including six seniors, from last year’s team.
- In all, only 22.8% of the scoring, 27.3% of the rebounding and 24.2% of the minutes played from last year’s squad return in 2013-14.
- Only four players on this year’s roster have played for the Crusaders, all of whom started playing for Valpo just last year.
- The 8 newcomers include 5 freshmen and 3 transfers - one eligible immediately, one eligible after sitting out and one eligible in December.
- This marks the first time in the last three seasons that the Crusaders have had a true freshman play for them.
In the Crusaders’ Future...
- Valpo inked a pair of Canadian guards to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period.
- Max Joseph and Tevonn Walker are currently teammates at Vanier College in the St. Laurent borough of Montreal, Quebec.
- Walker was a First Team All-RSEQ All-Star last season after averaging 16.4 ppg, while Joseph is in his first year at the school.
- Walker has been ranked among the top-10 nationally in his class by Hoopstars Canada and North Pole Hoops, while Joseph has been ranked 22nd by NPH.
@MercerMBB
- Mercer enters Friday night’s game at 4-3 on the season, most recently falling 76-67 at Ohio.
- The Bears own a home win over Seton Hall already this year and also dropped a three-point game at Texas to open the season.
- Mercer has 12 players averaging at least 10 minutes/game, three of whom score in double figures, led by 17.1 ppg from Langston Hall.
- Mercer won 24 games last season and defeated Tennessee in the first round of the NIT.
Cincinnati Christian
- The Eagles, an NAIA team which competes in the KIAC, enter the ARC at 5-3 on the season and will play Saturday’s game as an exhibition.
- CCU lost its last game at Indiana Wesleyan, coached by Crusader alum Greg Tonagel, by a 99-80 final.
Bryce Drew
- Bryce Drew is in his third season as head coach of @ValpoBasketball and is in his ninth season overall on the coaching staff.
- Last season, Drew guided Valpo to its second straight regular season title, its first tournament title and a school record 26 wins.
- Drew was named #HLMBB Coach of the Year in 2011-12 in his first season as head coach.
- Drew was the first Crusader men’s basketball Coach of the Year since 2001-02, when dad Homer won the honor in the Mid-Con.
- Drew led the Crusaders to 22 wins and the Horizon League regular season title in his first year at the helm.
- Prior to coaching, Drew spent seven seasons playing professionally, including six seasons in the NBA.
- Drew was a two-time Mid-Con MVP in his playing days with Valparaiso, helping the team to three NCAA tournament appearances.
- Drew hit “The Shot”, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the first round of the 1998 NCAA tournament, to lift the Crusaders over Ole Miss.
- “The Shot” was named one of the top-35 All-Time Madness Moments by the NCAA as part of the celebration of 75 Years of March Madness.
#DrewFamilyDynasty
- Bryce is the third member of the Drew family to serve as head coach of @ValpoBasketball.
- Father Homer was head coach from 1988-2002, and then returned to lead Valpo from 2003-11.
- Brother Scott (current head coach of @BaylorMBB) led the Crusaders during the 2002-03 season after nine seasons as an assistant under Homer.
- A Drew has been at the helm of the Crusaders for the last 25 years. #DrewFamilyDynasty
- The Drew family has combined to lead @ValpoBasketball to 442 victories and 11 postseason appearances. #DrewFamilyDynasty
- Overall, the trio of Drews owns 896 collegiate victories over a combined 45+ seasons of head coaching. #DrewFamilyDynasty
#CoachesWhoCanPlay
- @ValpoBasketball boasts one of the nation’s highest-scoring staffs, as a trio of coaches combined for 4,211 points during their D-I careers.
- The Crusaders’ coaching staff ranks fifth in the nation for most points scored on the Division I level as players.
- Head coach Bryce Drew scored 2,142 points during his four-year career with the Crusaders.
- Assistant coach Roger Powell Jr. tallied 1,178 points during his four-year career with Illinois.
- Assistant coach Matt Lottich poured in 891 points over his four-year career at Stanford.
- Assistant coach Luke Gore also played collegiately at NAIA Bethel [Tenn.] College.
LaVonte Dority
- Dority was named the Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year last year.
- Dority scored 15 points and set a new career high with five assists in the win over James Madison.
- Dority scored a team-high 20 points at Ohio.
- Dority went 7-of-8 from the floor, including five 3-pointers, for a career-best 21 points against North Park.
- Dority secured the Crusaders’ season-opening win over Murray State with a layup with less than nine seconds to play.
- Dority appeared in each of Valpo’s last 25 games after becoming eligible last season, averaging 8.6 ppg, third-most on the team.
- Dority earned Valpo’s Homer W. Drew Sr. Memorial Award, honoring the program’s most improved player.
- Dority scored in double figures nine times and led Valpo in scoring on three occasions.
- Dority was named Horizon League Newcomer of the Week following a 20-point game at Missouri State in his Crusader debut.
- Dority transferred to Valpo from South Florida, where he appeared in 35 games, at the semester break in 2011-12.
Bobby Capobianco
- Capobianco set numerous season highs last time out vs. UCF, ending the night 5-of-6 for 14 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals.
- Capobianco knocked down all four of his field goal attempts in a nine-point outing at Evansville.
- Capobianco totaled 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in just 17 minutes in Valpo’s win over North Park.
- Capobianco enters his senior year after averaging 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last year in his first season as a Crusader.
- Capobianco traveled with an Athletes in Action squad to Jamaica this past summer.
- Capobianco shot at a 55.1% clip from the field and scored in double figures six times last season.
- Capobianco was twice named Horizon League Newcomer of the Week.
- Capobianco approached a triple-double off the bench (10 pts/9 reb/9 ast) against UIC, becoming first player in NCAA to post that stat line off the bench in nearly 5 years.
- Capobianco played his first two seasons at Indiana and sat out the 2011-12 season after transferring to Valpo.
Jordan Coleman
- Coleman has scored in double figures all seven games so far this year, most recently tallying 15 points in the win over UCF.
- Coleman came off the bench for the first time this year vs. JMU and went 6-of-7 from the floor, matching his career high with 16 points.
- Coleman led Valpo at Illinois with 15 points and eight rebounds.
- Coleman set a new career high with 16 points in season-opening win over Murray State, including a perfect 8-of-8 effort from the foul line.
- Coleman also tied for team-high honors with eight rebounds against the Racers.
- Coleman appeared in 29 games off the bench in his first season as a Crusader, averaging 14.9 minutes and 4.4 points per game.
- Coleman scored a season-high 15 points in his Crusader debut against Georgia Southern.
- Coleman was immediately eligible to play for Valpo after transferring from Southwestern Illinois College.
- Coleman was an All-Conference selection for SWIC during the 2011-12 season, finishing second on the team with 10.2 ppg.
- Coleman started his collegiate career as a freshman at Hawai’i.
Vashil Fernandez
- Fernandez led Valpo with a career-best eight rebounds and matched his career high with four blocked shots against North Park.
- Fernandez went 5-of-7 from the floor in a 14-point, 7-rebound effort off the bench in Valpo’s season-opening victory.
- Fernandez set new career highs for points, field goals made and free throws made (4) in the win against Murray State.
- Fernandez played for Jamaica in its first-ever appearance at the FIBA Americas Championship in September.
- Fernandez appeared in four games, including a victory over Argentina, the world’s third-ranked team.
- Fernandez also traveled with an Athletes in Action squad to New Zealand this past August.
- Fernandez made 27 appearances off the bench last season in his first season of action, totaling 30 points and 38 rebounds.
- Fernandez averaged one blocked shot per 11 minutes of playing time last season.
- Fernandez made his senior international debut in the summer of 2012 for Jamaica at the FIBA Centrobasket tournament.
- Fernandez helped Jamaica to a 3rd place finish, its best ever at Centrobasket.
Moussa Gueye
- Gueye ripped down a new career-best 11 rebounds in Valpo’s win over James Madison.
- Gueye chipped in six points, four rebounds and a season-best four blocked shots at Evansville.
- Gueye went 4-of-6 from the floor for nine points, four rebounds and three blocks in the win over North Park.
- Gueye is eligible to play immediately at Valpo as a fifth-year senior after earning his bachelor’s degree from Alabama.
- Gueye started 27 games as a junior last season for the Crimson Tide, helping Alabama to 23 wins and a spot in the NIT quarterfinals.
- Gueye averaged 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and posted 1.9 blocks per game within SEC play, ranking third in the league.
- Gueye appeared in 12 games for Alabama as a sophomore in 2011-12 after recovering from an offseason injury.
- Gueye, a consensus pick as one of the top JuCo centers in the nation, was Conference Freshman of the Year at Lake Land [Ill.] College in 2009-10.
David Chadwick
- Chadwick scored nine points off the bench in the win over North Park.
- Chadwick made his regular season Crusader debut against Murray State, picking up an assist in four minutes of play.
- Chadwick is eligible to play this season after sitting out last year as a transfer from Rice, and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
- Chadwick traveled with an Athletes in Action squad on a tour of Lithuania this past summer.
- Chadwick appeared in 52 games over his two seasons at Rice.
- Chadwick was a starter at Hargrave Military Academy for a squad which reached the #1 ranking nationally.
Jubril Adekoya
- Adekoya went hit all four of his field goal attempts from inside the arc in an eight-point effort last time out in the win over UCF.
- Adekoya earned his first career start versus James Madison, tallying eight points and four rebounds.
- Adekoya played 14 second-half minutes at Evansville, registering four points, three rebounds and a Valpo-season best six assists.
- Adekoya knocked down all four of his field goal attempts for 11 points in win over North Park.
- Adekoya was a Third Team All-State honoree as a senior at Andrew [Ill.] H.S.
- Adekoya finished his career with the Thunderbolts as the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounds.
Nick Davidson
- Davidson debuted for Valpo against North Park, scoring five points and grabbing three rebounds.
- Davidson was named Area Player of the Year by both the NWI Times and the Post-Tribune as a senior.
- Davidson helped Andrean [Ind.] H.S. to the regional title in 2013 as a senior.
Alec Peters
- Peters has combined for 31 points over Valpo’s last two wins over JMU and UCF, including a team-high 16 last time out.
- Peters scored a Valpo season-high 30 points at Evansville, including seven 3-pointers.
- The 30 points was the most by a Crusader freshman since Raitis Grafs scored 30 against Belmont in January of 2000.
- Peters earned his second #HLMBB Freshman of the Week honor of the season for his efforts against Evansville and JMU.
- Peters posted his first career double-double at Ohio, going for 16 points and 13 rebounds.
- Peters was named #HLMBB Freshman of the Week following the opening weekend of play.
- Peters went for 12 points and tied for team-high honors with eight rebounds in the win over Murray State to open the season.
- 12 points was the most by a Crusader freshman in their first game since 2008.
- Peters finished fifth in Illinois Mr. Basketball voting as a senior at Washington H.S.
- Peters was a two-time First Team All-State honoree and led the Panthers to a spot in the regional finals as a senior.
Lexus Williams
- Williams scored nine points in the first six minutes in the win over UCF, ending the night with 10 points and four assists.
- Williams earned his first career start against JMU, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and also tallying four steals.
- Williams played 29 minutes at Evansville off the bench, registering eight points and four assists.
- Williams dished out four assists without a turnover and also tallied a team-high four steals in the win over North Park.
- Williams scored eight points in his Crusader debut, the season-opening win over Murray State.
- Williams was an All-Conference honoree at Marist [Ill.] H.S. as a senior.
- Williams led Marist to regional final during his final season after helping program capture the regional championship as a junior.
Clay Yeo
- Yeo went 6-of-8 from the floor for 15 points and also handed out a team-best five assists in win over North Park.
- Yeo contributed five points, three rebounds and a team-best three assists in his debut against Murray State.
- Yeo was named an Indiana All-Star as a senior after earning Junior All-Star recognition the previous season.
- Yeo led Triton [Ind.] H.S. to the 1A state championship game as a senior.
Keith Carter
- Carter will be eligible to play Dec. 21 for the Crusaders and will have three seasons of eligibility at Valpo.
- Carter transferred to Valpo from Saint Louis at the semester break last season.
- Carter was runner-up for Illinois Mr. Basketball 2012 at Proviso East H.S. to Jabari Parker, who now plays for Duke.
