The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team fell to Loyola 75-39 on Wednesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Valpo was plagued by cold shooting, hitting at a 30.6 percent clip from the field and 15 percent mark from 3-point range. Senior Eron Gordon (Indianapolis, Ind. / Cathedral [Seton Hall]) led the way with 14 points, while sophomore Ben Krikke (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada / Jasper Place) joined him in double figures with 12.

How It Happened

• A trey by Jacob Ognacevic (Sheboygan, Wis. / Sheboygan Area Lutheran) tied the game at seven with 14:57 left in the first half, and Valpo was still within three at 12-9 when the half reached its midway mark.
• Gordon connected on a triple with 8:32 remaining in the opening half to pull Valpo within three again at 15-12, and Valpo was still down just five at 19-14 with 7:20 on the clock.
• The Ramblers closed the half on a 18-2 spurt to take a commanding 37-16 lead into the locker room. An 11-0 run over the final 4:20 of the half transformed a 10-point game into a 21-point margin.
• Valpo did not get within 20 in the second half, and the Ramblers outscored the hosts 38-23 after halftime.

Inside the Game

• Gordon led the team in scoring for the third straight game after not doing so in any of his first 44 career contests at Valpo.
• Gordon’s five rebounds represented the team lead, his fourth straight game leading the team on the glass. He has led the team in rebounding five times this year after not doing so at all a year ago.
• Krikke reached double figures for the ninth time in his first 12 games as a sophomore, already equaling his number of double-figure outputs from all of last season (33 games).
• Loyola continued to play excellent basketball as the Ramblers (11-3, 6-1) were coming off an 88-46 victory over MVC preseason favorite UNI. Loyola has won four straight contests.
• The shots didn’t fall for the Brown & Gold, as Valpo made just three of its 20 3-point tries. Meanwhile, Loyola shot 53.6 percent for the game.
• Cameron Krutwig led the Ramblers with 15 points and was joined in double figures by Lucas Williamson (11) and Tate Hall (10).

Up Next 

Valpo (3-9, 0-3) will face a quick turnaround with a weekend series against Illinois State looming next. Valpo will visit the Redbirds on Saturday at 5 p.m. for the first of back-to-back meetings at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill. The game will air on Marquee Sports Network, ESPN3 and the Valpo Sports Network (95.1 FM Valparaiso, WVUR and the TuneIn Radio app).