The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team played its final game prior to a week-long break of action for final exams, falling 98-61 to Ole Miss on Saturday at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion in Oxford, Miss. Valpo was led in scoring by Kobe King (La Crosse, Wis. / La Crosse Central [Wisconsin]), who poured in 20 points, while the rebounding of Ibra Bayu (Flevoland, The Netherlands / Perkiomen) served as another bright spot as he collected 13 boards.
How It Happened
- Ole Miss jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, but Valpo created several second chances to cut the lead to 8-6 with 17:15 left in the opening half.
- The Rebels scored the next eight to open up their first double-figure lead at 16-6.
- After a jumper by King with 12:49 on the first-half timer the lead was trimmed to four, and later King hit a 3 to claw the Beacons within five at 23-18.
- It was 28-19 with 10:40 on the clock, but Ole Miss went on an 11-0 run to break it open.
- By halftime, Ole Miss had built the lead to 23 at 53-30. The Rebels outscored Valpo 21-0 in points off turnovers in the opening half by forcing 13 giveaways. Ole Miss shot 56 percent in the opening half as well. King poured in 14 first-half points.
- The Rebels outscored Valpo 45-31 in the second half despite Bayu gobbling up nine boards after the break. Ben Krikke (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada / Jasper Place) scored 10 points over the game’s final 20 minutes.
Inside the Game
- Valpo was led in scoring by King, who delivered a 20-point effort to go along with five rebounds. King has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season including nine with 15+ points and four with 20 points or more.
- Bayu skied for a career-high 13 rebounds. In fact, he nearly doubled his season rebound total as he had 15 total over his first six games. His previous personal best was six in his collegiate debut on Nov. 23 at Samford.
- Krikke tallied 16 points, 10 of which came after halftime. He has scored in double figures in 10 of his 11 games this season. This was Krikke’s fifth straight game with 15+ points. He went 6-of-7 at the foul line on Saturday.
- Krikke upped his career point total to 1,195, one point away from cracking the top 20 in program history. Lance Barker (1991-1995) is currently 20th at 1,196.
- Nick Edwards (Atlanta, Ga. / Grayson [Glenville State]) enjoyed his second straight double-figure scoring effort after reaching double figures just once over his first nine games. He totaled 14 points, finishing as one of Valpo’s three double-figure scorers.
- Sophomore Darius DeAveiro (Kanata, Ottawa, Canada / Orangeville Prep) handed out seven assists in 22 minutes of action. It was his second game this season with seven or more helpers and his highest assist output since 10 on Nov. 13 vs. Western Michigan. DeAveiro got his most playing time in the last six games.
- Valpo was outscored 36-0 in points off turnovers, committing 21 turnovers to Ole Miss’ five.
- This marked the first matchup between Valpo and Ole Miss since the historic buzzer-beater by Bryce Drew in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
Up Next
The Beacons (4-7) will have a week off for finals before hosting Elon on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center. For ticket information, visit valpoathletics.com/tickets.
