Incarnate Word (1-2, 0-0 Southland)
at Valparaiso (1-2, 0-0 MVC)

Game No. 4 – Saturday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m. CT
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) – Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team is all set to host a Saturday night home game at the Athletics-Recreation Center as Incarnate Word comes to town for the first ever matchup between the two teams. The Cardinals feature several Northwest Indiana ties as head coach Carson Cunningham previously served as the high school coach at Andrean, his alma mater, while assistant coach Chris Artis played collegiately at Valpo. Ben Krikke will be recognized prior to the game for becoming the latest member of Valpo’s 1,000-point club.

Last Time Out: Valpo outscored Chicago State 50-38 after halftime, but it was not enough to erase a large early deficit as the host Cougars prevailed 87-74 on Wednesday night on Chicago’s south side. Ben Krikke had 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting, while Nick Edwards scored all 15 of his points in the second half.

Following the Beacons: Streaming – ESPN3 – Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Jamie Stangel (analyst)    

Radio – 95.1 FM, WVUR, ValpoAthletics.com, TuneIn Radio App – Zach Collins and Noah Godsell

Twitter updates - @ValpoBasketball

Links for video, audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.

Head Coach Matt Lottich: Matt Lottich (98-98) is in his seventh season as the head coach of the men’s basketball program in 2022-2023. Twice during his tenure, Valpo has upset Top-25 opponents, defeating Drake and Rhode Island at the ARC. Valpo has four wins over AP Top 25 teams in program history, and two have come under Lottich. In 2019-2020, Valpo became the first team in the history of Arch Madness, the annual Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis, to reach the title game after playing in the opening round by winning three games in three days. Lottich, hired as the 22nd head coach of the Valpo men’s basketball program in April 2016, graduated from Stanford University in 2004 and New Trier High School (Illinois) in 2000.

Series Notes: This will mark the first matchup between Valpo and Incarnate Word.

Krikke Atop the MVC

• After tallying a career-high 28 points in the Nov. 13 home opener vs. Western Michigan, Ben Krikke followed with 27 on Nov. 16 at Chicago State. Prior to the game against the Broncos, Krikke had scored no more than 26 points in any of his 91 collegiate games. Now, he has scored 27 or more in two straight.
• Thanks to his early-season scoring surge, Krikke sits atop the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring average. In fact, the Valpo senior ranks 10^th in the nation in points per game.
• Krikke’s 27 points on Wednesday were the most by a Valpo player in a true road game since Javon Freeman-Liberty’s 28 on Jan. 15, 2020 at UNI.
• Krikke became the first Valpo player to score 27 points or more in back-to-back games since Alec Peters did so in three straight outings in December 2016 (at Missouri State, vs. Indiana State, vs. Santa Clara).
• Entering Nov. 19 vs. Incarnate Word, Krikke has scored 1,047 career points. He is 149 points away from cracking the top 20 in program history.

Cougars Convert the Freebies

• Chicago State shot 96.4 percent from the free-throw line at 27-of-28 in the Nov. 16 game against Valpo. That marked the highest single-game free throw percentage in the nation so far this season.
• This marked the first time a Valpo opponent shot 95 percent or better at the charity stripe with 20 or more attempts since Butler on Jan. 1, 2011.
• This was Chicago State’s highest free-throw percentage with a minimum of 10 attempts since going 12-of-12 vs. Loyola on Jan. 20, 2013.

Shooting for 2-0 at Home

• Valpo has a chance to start the home portion of the season with a 2-0 record for the 12^th time in the last 13 seasons. The only time in that stretch that Valpo did not start 2-0 at home was last season, when the home slate began with setbacks to Toledo and UIC.
• The program is now 17-1 in its last 18 home openers with 15 of those victories coming by double figures.
• Valpo has finished with a home record of .500 or better in 30 straight seasons.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Nov. 16: Chicago State 87, Valpo 74

• Point guard Nick Edwards scored all 15 of his points after halftime, part of his first double-figure output in a Valpo uniform and the 25^th such performance of his collegiate career.
• Ben Krikke’s 27 points came on 12-of-16 from the field and 3-of-3 at the free-throw line. This marked his 54^th career double-figure game and his 11^th with 20+ points.
• Valpo held a 24-10 edge in transition points and a 42-30 advantage in points in the paint.
• The Beacons shot 54.3 percent in the second half and outscored the Cougars 50-38 after the break.
• Kobe King paced the team on the glass with six rebounds including four offensive boards. King scored 11 points, finishing in double figures for the third consecutive game and the 22^nd time in his 26-game Valpo career.
• The Beacons shot 48.3 percent for the game but were just 2-of-11 from 3-point territory. Valpo made 14 of its 18 free throws (77.8 percent).
• Sophomore Preston Ruedinger returned to action after missing the previous two games with a back injury, but Ibra Bayu (hernia) and Cam Palesse (thumb) remained sidelined.
• In his return to the court, Ruedinger grabbed a career-high four rebounds.

Scouting the Cardinals

• Coming off an 84-47 victory over Texas Lutheran after opening the season with losses to North Dakota (65-57) and UNLV (88-63).
• Picked to finish 10^th in the 10-team Southland Conference.
• Led in scoring by Charlie Yoder at 15.0 points per game.
• Finished last season with a 7-25 record and a 3-11 mark in conference play.

The 1,000-Point Club

• Krikke reached the 1,000-career-point milestone in the Nov. 13 home-opening victory over Western Michigan.
• He became the first Valpo player to join that esteemed group since current graduate assistant Tevonn Walker did so exactly five years prior – Nov. 13, 2017 vs. Trinity Christian.
• Krikke’s milestone basket came at the 4:50 mark of the first half as his layup lifted his career point total into four figures. The crowd recognized the accomplishment with a loud ovation as public address announcer John Bowker communicated the news to the audience at the next dead ball.

The Dynamic Duo

• Valpo’s home-opening win over Western Michigan was certainly a team effort, but make no mistake, the stars shined the brightest in the team’s regular-season ARC debut with preseason all-conference selections Ben Krikke and Kobe King combining for two thirds of the team’s scoring.
• Krikke’s career-high 28 points outdid his previous watermark of 26 that occurred on Nov. 27, 2021 vs. Trinity Christian.
• King also turned in a career high with 26, topping his previous best of 24 that came on Feb. 5 of last season vs. Indiana State.
• This marked the first time Valpo boasted two players with 25+ points in the same game since Dec. 21, 2010 at Oakland, when Brandon Wood (35) and Cory Johnson (33) turned the trick.
• Prior to Krikke and King vs. Western Michigan, the last time a pair of Valpo teammates scored 20 or more in the same contest was Jan. 22, 2017 vs. UIC (Alec Peters, 30; Shane Hammink 24).
• Krikke and King became the second set of teammates each with 25+ points in the same game against a Division-I opponent this season, joining UNC’s Caleb Love and Armando Bacot.
• Krikke’s 28 points were the most by a Valpo player in a single game since Thomas Kithier also had 28 on Nov. 13, 2021 vs. UIC.
• Krikke’s career-high 13 made field goals were the most by a Valpo player since Javon Freeman-Liberty had 13 on Nov. 25, 2019 vs. Cincinnati.

Darius The Distributor

• Darius DeAveiro handed out a career-high 10 assists while committing just one turnover in the Nov. 13 victory over Western Michigan.
• The sophomore point guard came off the bench and finished two points shy of a double-double as he matched a career best in the scoring department with eight points, equaling his previous mark that occurred on Jan. 15, 2022 vs. Missouri State.
• The 10-assist total bested his previous personal high of eight that had occurred twice, most recently Dec. 7 of last season vs. East West.
• This marked just the third time in the last 15 seasons that a Valpo player has reached a double-figure assist total as DeAveiro joined Deion Lavender as the only Valpo players to do so in that time period. Lavender handed out 10 assists twice during the 2018-19 season, most recently Dec. 8, 2018 at George Washington.
• DeAveiro became just the 11^th player in the nation this season with 10 or more assists and one turnover or fewer in a game.
• DeAveiro became just the third player in the nation this season to come off the bench and hand out 10 or more assists, joining Kentucky’s Sahvir Wheeler and Delaware State’s Corey Perkins.

Century Mark in Sight

• Valpo head coach Matt Lottich earned his 98th career win on Nov. 13 vs. Western Michigan.
• He needs just two more victories to become the fourth head coach in program history to reach 100 career victories, joining Homer Drew, Bryce Drew and J.M Christiansen.
• Last season, Lottich moved into sole possession of fourth place in program history, surpassing the legendary Gene Bartow (1964-1970). On a side note, Valpo assistant coach Matt Bowen worked under Bartow at UAB in 1995.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Nov. 13: Valpo 81, Western Michigan 65

• Krikke turned in his 10^th career game with 20 points or more, while King enjoyed his third such contest.
• The Beacons shot 50 percent from the field while holding the Broncos to 35.5 percent (22-of-62).
• The Beacons committed just eight turnovers while racking up 18 assists.
• Valpo outscored WMU 20-2 in fastbreak points and 46-24 in the paint.
• The victory came despite playing shorthanded as Cam Palesse (thumb), Preston Ruedinger (back) and Ibra Bayu (hernia) were not in uniform.
• Connor Barrett knocked down a 3-pointer in his first game action since Jan. 5 of last season.

Scouting the Cougars

• Opened the season with losses to Northwestern (85-54) and St. Thomas (83-61).
• Beat IUPUI 68-58 in their home opener on Monday.
• Went 7-25 last season and 3-15 in Western Athletic Conference games in their final season as a WAC member.
• One of only two programs in the country competing as an independent without conference affiliation this season, joining Hartford.
• Under the direction of second-year head coach Gerald Gillion.

Ben Bits

• Last season, Ben Krikke was one of three players in the Missouri Valley Conference to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor and 80 percent or better from the free-throw line, joining Isiaih Mosley of Missouri State and Malevy Leons of Bradley while owning the highest field-goal percentage of that elite group.
• Krikke entered the season with a career field-goal percentage of 53.4, a mark that ranks seventh in program history.
• Krikke had a 12-game double-figure scoring streak that was snapped in the final game of the season, the MVC Tournament quarterfinal vs. Missouri State. He totaled 22 double-figure outputs and seven performances of 20 points or more while pacing the team in scoring on 11 occasions.
• The Valpo forward entered this season having played in 90 career games with two years of eligibility remaining. The threshold to crack the program’s all-time top 10 is 126 and the program record is 138 (Erik Buggs). He started the final 29 games last season after missing the first three games of the year due to an ankle injury.
• After earning third team honors for the second straight year, Krikke became the first Valpo player to earn All-MVC accolades in two different seasons. The program’s last multi-time all-conference honoree was Alec Peters, who was a first-team all-Horizon League pick in each of his final three seasons, concluding in 2016-17.
• He earned MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team status for the second straight year. He is the only Valpo player who has been part of the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team since the department joined the conference.

Kobe’s Kingdom

• Kobe King has scored in double figures in 22 of his 26 games in a Valpo uniform, including each of the first three games this season.
• The former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball has scored 15 or more points in 12 of his 26 games with the Beacons.
• King is up to 27 career double-figure scoring efforts including his tenure at Wisconsin.
• At the end of last season, King became Valpo’s second All-Newcomer Team choice since joining the league and first since Bakari Evelyn in 2017-18.
• He appeared on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays after a three-quarter court buzzer-beater on Dec. 11 vs. Charlotte, a play that ranked No. 9 on the popular countdown that evening.

Top Two Scorers Back

• With both Ben Krikke (14.2 ppg) and Kobe King (14.0 ppg) back, Valpo returns its top two scorers from last season.
• The last time the program had its top two scorers back from the previous year was 2015-2016, when Alec Peters and Darien Walker both returned after finishing as the team’s top two scorers in 2014-15. The 2015-16 season was a historic one, as the Brown & Gold reached the NIT championship game.
• Only four of the 12 teams in the Missouri Valley Conference have their top two scorers back from last season, as Valpo joins Drake, Southern Illinois and Indiana State.

Point Guard Prowess

• Sophomore Preston Ruedinger has been placed on scholarship after spending much of the 2021-22 season as the starting point guard while competing as a nonscholarship freshman. He initially planned to redshirt but instead used a season of eligibility, making his season debut on Dec. 20 vs. Eastern Michigan.
• Ruedinger did not make more than one turnover in any of his 19 contests and played turnover-free basketball on 11 occasions.
• He finished the season with 32 assists against just eight turnovers. He was the only player in the nation with 30 or more assists and fewer than 10 turnovers, becoming the first Valpo player to finish a season with 30 or more assists and fewer than 10 turnovers in the last 15 years.
• At season’s end, Ruedinger was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team, the fourth straight season Valpo has had a rookie earn that distinction.
• In addition, sophomore Darius DeAveiro finished his freshman season as one of two freshmen nationally (joining Youngstown State’s Luke Chicone) with 50 or more assists and fewer than 25 turnovers. He was the only player in the MVC to achieve that feat.
• Valpo has added fifth-year senior Nick Edwards to the mix after he played at Glenville State last season. Edwards was one of eight players in the Division-II nation to post a triple-double a year ago en route to averaging 7.9 assists per game over 11 games while being limited by a foot injury.

Looking Back at 2021-2022

• The team boasted two MVC Scholar-Athlete team selections, the captain of the All-Bench Team, an MVC Most-Improved Team honoree, an All-MVC Third Team performer, an All-Newcomer team member and an All-Freshman team honoree. Valpo had seven different MVC postseason honors won by five different players.
• Valpo went a combined 5-0 against instate foes Indiana State and Evansville, sweeping the Hoosier State for the first time since joining the MVC.
• Valpo finished with a home record of .500 or better for the 30^th consecutive season.
• Eight of Valpo’s 18 MVC games were decided by three points or fewer or required overtime.
• The Beacons overcame double-figure deficits to win on three occasions (Tulane, Eastern Michigan and Evansville), something that has occurred 19 times during the Matt Lottich Era.
• The team finished fourth in the MVC in both free-throw percentage (.759) and field-goal percentage (.459) while also finishing fourth in assists per game (12.5), steals per game (6.4) and third in assist/turnover ratio (1.1).
• Valpo played six overtime games, the program’s most since tying a Division-I record with eight in 1993.

Preseason Picks

• Ben Krikke was tabbed to the Preseason All-MVC First Team, becoming the first player to earn that honor in Valpo’s time in the conference.
• Prior to this season, Valpo had five preseason all-conference selections since joining The Valley in 2017-18, all second team honorees.
• Kobe King was named to the Preseason All-MVC Third Team, making this the second time in the team’s six years in The Valley that Valpo has boasted a pair of preseason all-league choices.
• Krikke, also a Preseason All-MVC Second Team choice last year, became the first Valpo player to earn Preseason All-MVC honors on multiple occasions.
• Valpo was picked to finish ninth of 12 in the preseason poll, ahead of Illinois State, UIC and Evansville.
• Drake hauled in 52 of the 54 first-place votes and finished a heavy preseason favorite, while Drake’s Tucker DeVries was named MVC Preseason Player of the Year.
• In addition to the conference’s honor, Krikke was named to the Preseason All-MVC First Team by Blue Ribbon Magazine

Roster Rundown

• The 2022-23 roster features eight returning letter winners, one returning player who redshirted last season and six newcomers (three freshmen, three transfers).
• Five Valpo players hail from outside of the United States – two from The Netherlands, two from Canada and one from Denmark.
• Four members of the roster are natives of the state of Wisconsin, while two call Illinois home and one has remained in his home state of Indiana. The remaining players come from Georgia, Minnesota and Ohio.
• Nick Edwards is the first Georgia native to play for the program since E. Victor Nickerson in 2015-16.

Newcomer Notes

• Nick Edwards had a triple-double while playing at Glenville last season, one of eight Division-II players in the nation to achieve that feat.
• Quinton Green earned All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) honors for three straight seasons. He finished with 1,288 points over four seasons at Cedarville and knocked down a team-high 59 3-point field goals last year.
• Ibra Bayu spent three years in the United States playing high school basketball before arriving at Valpo. He dealt with a serious medical issue during his junior season before being sidelined by two separate fractured ankles as a senior.
• Jerome Palm comes to Valpo after two junior college seasons at Hillsborough CC and Daytona State. He competed for the championship-winning Netherlands national team in the 2021 3x3 national tournament.
• Maximus Nelson was a unanimous first team all-conference and first-team all-state selection after his senior season at Appleton North High School in Appleton, Wis.

Beacon Bits

Random off-the-court facts on each Valpo player.

• #1 Cam Palesse – Enjoys building fish-tank ecosystems.
• #2 Preston Ruedinger – Is an avid golfer in his spare time... Has an interest in coaching in the future.
• #3 Connor Barrett – Is also an avid golfer.
• #4 Darius DeAveiro – Father David is the former head coach at McGill University in Montreal and is now the head coach of the Ryerson Rams... Played on the state soccer team at age 13 and traveled significantly for the sport, including a trip to England.
• #5 Nick Edwards – Describes himself as a “wing fanatic” with his preference being either honey barbeque or lemon pepper... Cousin is Champ Bailey, who was a 12-time Pro Bowl selection during his NFL career that spanned from 1999-2014.
• #11 Emil Freese-Vilien – Civil engineering major who spends a lot of time drawing blueprints and houses... His first basketball practice came at age 14... Played serious badminton growing up.
• #12 Ibra Bayu – Played soccer during his youth but was advised to try basketball at age 10 during a gym class... Describes himself as a very social person who enjoys talking, making jokes and laughing.
• #13 Maximus Nelson – Enjoys working kids camp and teaching young children how to play the sport of basketball.
• #14 Quinton Green – Has four younger brothers and sisters... His roommate for five years at Cedarville was Conner TenHove, a Valparaiso, Ind. native... Scored 23 points and pulled down seven rebounds against Valpo in an exhibition game on Oct. 19, 2019 while playing for Cedarville.
• #15 Luke Morrill – Walk-on who enjoys wakesurfing.
• #20 Joe Vick – Walk-on who is the son of Julie Vick, the administrative assistant for Valpo Basketball.
• #23 Ben Krikke – Spent over 100 days in quarantine before and during the 2020-2021 season... Enjoys mountain biking and chess, which he learned from his grandfather... Credits his father’s Michael Jordon DVD set for helping hone his skills.
• #32 Joe Hedstrom – Is an avid fisherman and Valpo’s proximity to Lake Michigan added to his desire to play at Valpo... Grandfather Burt Hedstrom played basketball, football and baseball at Northwestern University (1944-47) and both of his parents played college basketball, mother Sharon (Bethel) and father Peter (St. Olaf).
• #33 Jerome Palm – Enjoys cutting hair for fun as a makeshift barber as he cuts hair for friends and family members in addition to his own.
• #35 Kobe King –Enjoys making music and writing song lyrics.

Staff Sidebars

• Associate head coach Luke Gore is in his 21^st year on staff and has served under four different head coaches. The Valpo veteran has helped the team to eight postseason berths in the last 12 years and was on staff for the three winningest seasons in program history. He serves as the team’s defensive coordinator in addition to leading Valpo’s scheduling and scouting efforts.
• Assistant coach Matt Bowen returned to Valpo’s staff in 2018-19 after previously spending four seasons with the Brown & Gold from 2002-2006. He was the head coach at the University of Minnesota Duluth from 2012-2018. Bowen coordinates the team’s offense.
• Assistant coach Rob Holloway is back for his fifth season after spending the previous two years on staff at Eastern Illinois, his alma mater.
• Director of Basketball Operations Peter Funk is in his second season in that role after spending the previous two years as a graduate assistant and the three years prior to that as a student manager.
• Vijay Blackmon joined the Valpo staff this summer, leading the program’s strength & conditioning efforts. He arrived at Valpo after serving as the head strength & conditioning coach at Bella Vista College Prep School in Phoenix, Ariz. from October 2021 to April 2022. During that time, he also served as a strength coach intern for the Grand Canyon men’s basketball program, which is under the direction of Valpo legend Bryce Drew.
• Former Valpo basketball standout Tevonn Walker has rejoined the program as a graduate assistant. He scored 1,405 career points with the Brown & Gold, a total that ranks 14^th in program history. He went on to play professionally in Germany and Canada.
• After starting his career at Michigan State, Thomas Kithier was a key player for the Beacons last season. Due to a career-ending back injury, he has transitioned into a graduate assistant role.
• Sam Back is in his fifth season as a student manager and third as head manager. The North Judson, Ind. native was named to Grow the Game’s Manager All-American Team following the 2021-2022 campaign.

Tradition of Excellence

• Valpo has 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and four NIT berths in the program’s proud history, with the team’s postseason success highlighted by a Sweet Sixteen run in 1998.
• The program has produced nine All-Americans, won 18 regular season conference championships and 10 conference tournament crowns.
• Valpo also boasts eight NBA players, 10 conference players of the year and 20 20-win seasons.
• Nine of the team’s NCAA appearances have come since 1996.
• Valpo has qualified for the postseason eight times in the last 12 years, including 2019-20 where Valpo accepted a postseason berth but the tournament was not played due to COVID-19.
• Valpo has developed a myriad of professional basketball players over the last quarter century, most notably a pair of recent NBA players. Ryan Broekhoff (class of 2013) signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks in the summer of 2018 after spending five seasons playing internationally in Russia and Turkey. Alec Peters (class of 2017) was the 54th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. Peters appeared in 20 games for the Suns in 2017-18, highlighted by a 36-point performance in the season finale against Dallas – a new single-game high by a Valpo alum in the NBA. He has gone on to a successful career overseas with CSKA Moscow (2018-2019), Anadolu Efes (2019-2020) and Kirolbet Baskonia (2020-2022) and Olympiacos (2022-present).
• Valpo has produced over 50 professional players in the last three decades.