February 04, 20171st2ndFinal
Valparaiso343569
Green Bay434386
Stats at a GlanceVALPOGB
FG Percentage.417 (25-60) .412 (28-68)
3P FG Percentage.296 (8-27) .375 (6-16)
FT Percentage.611 (11-18) .686 (24-35)
Offensive Rebounds720
Defensive Rebounds2533
Total Rebounds3253
Turnovers148
Steals58
Bench Points1435
LeadersVALPOGB
PointsPETERS - 20
KANTER - 17
ReboundsPETERS - 8
KANTER - 9
SMALL - 9
AssistsHAMMINK - 3
FINDLAY - 7
StealsKISER - 2
LOWE - 3
BlocksSOROLLA - 2
BOTZ - 1
BoxscorePlay-by-Play1st Half2nd Half
Crusaders Fall At Green Bay Saturday Afternoon
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Crusaders Fall At Green Bay Saturday Afternoon
Max Joseph scored nine points for the Crusaders Saturday.

The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team saw its eight-game winning streak come to a halt Saturday afternoon in Green Bay, Wis., as the Phoenix of Green Bay dealt the Crusaders an 86-69 defeat. With the loss, Valpo’s lead over Green Bay atop the Horizon League standings was cut to one-half game.

How It Happened

  • Valpo led twice early, but each time Green Bay gained the lead with a 3-pointer. The Phoenix would pull out to a 14-6 lead just 5:35 into the game.
  • Seniors Alec Peters (Washington, Ill./Washington) and Shane Hammink (Millingen aan de Rijn, Netherlands/Oakley College [LSU]) both hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first 10:06 of the game to keep the Crusaders within striking distance.
  • Hammink’s second triple started a 7-0 spurt which drew the Crusaders to within one point at 23-22 with 9:01 to play in the half. But Valpo then went scoreless for a stretch of nearly four minutes as Green Bay pulled back out to an eight-point lead.
  • The Phoenix lead swung between four and nine points the remainder of the half. Freshman Micah Bradford (Bradley, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) converted a driving layup with 51 seconds to play in the period to cut the deficit to 39-34, but Green Bay’s Charles Cooper scored four points in the final 37 seconds to give the Phoenix a 43-34 lead at the break.
  • Green Bay scored the first five points of the second half to push its advantage into double figures for good.
  • A 14-4 run gave the Phoenix a 68-45 lead with 10:37 to play, and the lead was still 21 points with 6:45 to go.
  • Valpo scored seven straight points in a span of 1:22 to cut the deficit to 14 points, and after four in a row by the Phoenix, the Crusaders rattled off a 9-1 run over a 90-second stretch to make it a 79-69 ballgame. But the Crusaders’ comeback effort stalled at that point, as Valpo missed its final four shots from the floor.

Inside the Game

  • The Crusaders entered the game 19th in the nation in rebounding margin (+7.1) and were a league-best +10.4 on the glass within Horizon League-only play, but were dominated on the glass by the Phoenix.
  • Green Bay out-rebounded Valpo, 53-32 – 20 of the Phoenix’s 53 rebounds came on the offensive boards.
  • The -21 margin on the glass was the Crusaders’ worst since the 2014 squad was out-rebounded by 22 by Milwaukee in the second round of the Horizon League Championship at Green Bay.
  • Meanwhile, the Crusaders surrendered 20 offensive rebounds on the road against the Phoenix for a second straight season – Green Bay converted those opportunities into 17 second-chance points on Saturday.
  • The Phoenix were just 2-of-13 from the field over the first 5:30 of the second half, but grabbed nine offensive rebounds in that stretch.
  • Valpo also struggled to keep the Phoenix off the foul line, as Green Bay attempted 35 free throws – the most the Crusaders have surrendered this year. Valpo’s -17 differential in free throw attempts was also its worst of the season.
  • Entering the game as the nation’s top free throw shooting team, Valpo hit just 11-of-18 from the stripe on Saturday. The Crusaders’ 61.1% clip from the foul line was their worst of the year and was the first time they’d been under 70% since the Santa Clara loss.
  • Peters led Valpo on Saturday, finishing with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting as well as eight rebounds.
  • Peters now own 19 efforts of at least 20 points this season, the most in a single season by a Crusader going back to at least the 1994-95 campaign.
  • Junior Tevonn Walker (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier College) added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Hammink chipped in 12 points.
  • Seven different Green Bay (15-9, 9-3 Horizon) players scored at least eight points in a balanced effort, led by 17 points from Kerem Kanter. Kanter and Khalil Small tied for game-high honors with nine rebounds, while Tevin Findlay handed out seven assists without committing a turnover.

Next Up

The Crusaders (19-5, 9-2 Horizon) return home to host Cleveland State Thursday evening at 7 p.m. As always, the game can be seen live on ESPN3, WatchESPN and the ESPN app, and heard live on the Valpo Sports Network (WVUR, 95.1 FM, Valparaiso; WVLP, 103.1 FM, Valparaiso). Links for the live coverage will be available via ValpoAthletics.com.