Valparaiso was within seven at halftime and cut a 24-point
second-half deficit to nine points late, but eventually succumbed to #6/4 North Carolina 88-77 Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Redshirt sophomore Brandon Wood (Kokomo,
Ind./Kokomo
[Highland C.C./Southern Illinois])
put up 30 points in just his second game as a Crusader after debuting with a
26-point effort on Friday. Wood scored
17 of his points in the game’s final 13 minutes during the Crusader rally, and
ended the night hitting 12 of his 19 shot attempts, including 6-of-10 from
behind the arc. Fifth-year senior Brandon McPherson (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence
North) added 20 points as well, knocking down four of his six 3-point attempts.
“I'm really proud
of our basketball team,” said Crusader head coach Homer Drew. “I thought that
[Wood and McPherson] really played well for us especially offensively, but I've
been thrilled since I think we've had a huge growth defensively. We're very young, seven freshmen and
sophomores and we're still learning each other.
We're still learning how to play together. I thought tonight was a big step for our
basketball team, because we shared the ball, we looked for people, and I felt
our offense was very efficient. I felt
our defense did well. We tried to keep
it tight. But you have to compliment North Carolina. They killed us on the boards, 42-23, but our
guys continued to battle, battle, battle.”
The Tar Heels looked to
pull away early in the first half, going ahead 18-11 8:30 into the
ballgame. But the Crusaders came back
with an 11-4 spurt over the next three minutes to tie things up at 22. McPherson knocked down two of his triples
during the run and also added a jumper, while Wood connected on a triple as
well as Valpo knotted things up with 8:27 to play in the opening half.
UNC responded with nine
straight points to go ahead 31-22 with 4:25 left in the half, but McPherson
connected on a pair of free throws and Wood hit a pair of long jumpers to pull
Valpo back to within three two minutes later.
The Tar Heels responded with seven straight points and looked to go into
halftime up by ten points, but Matt
Kenney (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville) found Ryan Broekhoff (Frankston, Victoria, Australia/Australian Institute
of Sport) in the right corner for a triple with three seconds left in the half
to move within 38-31 at the break.
North Carolina took advantage of a pair of Valpo turnovers on
its first two possessions of the second half to key an 8-0 run over the first
two minutes coming out of the break. The
eight-point spurt was part of a larger 23-8 extended run that put the Tar Heels
on top 61-39 with 14:08 to play.
The lead remained in the
low 20’s for UNC for most of the next six minutes, with the Tar Heels extending
it to as many as 24 points at 67-43 at one point. The Crusaders still trailed by 20 (70-50)
with 8:41 to play before putting together a run to put themselves back in
contention.
Wood started the run with
a 3-pointer, and Broekhoff converted on a pair of free throws on a fast-break
chance to slice the deficit to 15.
McPherson then came up with a steal on the next defensive possession,
and again the Crusaders ran, as Broekhoff found Wood for a spot-up triple to
quickly make it 70-58 with 7:33 remaining.
UNC scored the next five
points to extend the lead back out to 17, but Valpo refused to go away, as Cory Johnson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East
[Iowa State]) converted on a 3-point play out of a timeout to stop the Tar Heel
spurt. After a pair of UNC free throws,
Wood knocked down a jumper and Kenney came up with a steal and fast-break
basket to get within 12.
Two possessions later,
Wood knocked down yet another runner to pull the Crusaders with 77-67 with 3:44
to play. The lead remained between 10-13
points for the next couple minutes until McPherson came up with a triple to
bring Valpo back within single digits for the first time since early in the
second half with 1:52 to play. The
Crusaders were unable to get any closer than nine, however, as the Tar Heels
held off Valpo.
Wood and McPherson were
the only Crusaders to finish in double figures, but Valpo got a number of other
stellar efforts. Johnson chipped in
seven points and team-high totals of five rebounds and four assists, while
Kenney posted eight points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals
without a turnover in 24 minutes off the bench.
Broekhoff also came off the bench with seven points in 11 minutes of
action.
Deon Thompson (3-0) led
the defending national champion Tar Heels with 20 points and eight rebounds,
pacing four UNC players in double figures.
Ed Davis contributed 16 points and six rebounds, while Larry Drew II added
13 points and tied for team-high honors with Marcus Ginyard, dishing out six
assists apiece.
Valparaiso (0-2) returns to the ARC for the first time
during the regular season on Thursday evening as the Crusaders host IU-South
Bend at 7:05 p.m. Live audio can be
heard on the Valpo Sports Radio Network (WEFM [95.9 FM, Michigan
City] and WAKE [1500 AM, Valparaiso]),
while live video will be available through the Horizon League Network. Links for both, as well as live stats, can be
found online at www.valpoathletics.com.