Evansville (4-18, 0-11 MVC)
at Valparaiso (9-13, 3-8 MVC)

Game No. 23 – Saturday, Jan. 28, 6 p.m. CT
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) – Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will look to capture its fourth win in the last five games on Saturday night as Evansville comes to the Athletics-Recreation Center for the second matchup between the two teams in a two-week span. The first 500 patrons through the turnstiles will receive a free Valpo koozie. In addition, the Valpo coaching staff will participate in Suits and Sneakers Week as part of the American Cancer Society’s Coaches vs. Cancer initiative. This will also be a Mental Health Awareness Game presented by Valpo’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Dam Worth It Company.

Last Time Out: It was a game of runs on Wednesday in Cedar Falls. After the two teams played even early, host UNI went on a 13-0 burst to turn a 17-all deadlock into a 30-17 lead with 7:35 left in the first half. Valpo closed to within seven, but UNI again reeled off 10 straight points to end the half to take a 17-point lead into the locker room. After trailing by as many as 19 early in the second half, the Beacons battled to within five with 9:04 to go, but the gap mounted back up to 14 in an eventual 77-66 win for the hosts. Ben Krikke led all scorers with 22 points, while Kobe King had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.

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

Radio – 95.1 FM, WVUR, ValpoAthletics.com, TuneIn Radio App – Zach Collins (play-by-play)  

Twitter updates - @ValpoBasketball

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

Head Coach Matt Lottich: Matt Lottich (106-109) 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: Valpo owns a 24-72 all-time record as the two teams get set to compete in their 97^th matchup. The Beacons own a four-game head-to-head winning streak over the Aces. Valpo is 14-28 at home in the head-to-head series. Evansville is the second most common opponent in program history as Valpo has played only Butler (103) more frequently. The Brown & Gold have gotten the better of the play in recent years as Valpo owns a 7-2 mark in the last nine showdowns, including the 76-69 win at the Ford Center two weeks ago. That win helped Valpo gain a 7-6 edge over the Aces since joining the Missouri Valley Conference. The Beacons earned a three-game sweep of Evansville in two of the last three years, bouncing the Purple Aces from the State Farm MVC Tournament in both 2020 and 2022. 

Remembering Redmon: Prior to the game, a moment of silence will be held to honor David Redmon ‘95, a hometown product who helped lay the foundation for the legacy of success of the Valpo men’s basketball program. Redmon, a 2004 Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, passed away on Jan. 15 at the age of 50 in Columbus, Ohio. In Redmon’s three years with the program, Valpo won 52 games after winning just 14 total the previous three seasons. He helped the program to its first 20-win season in nearly three decades, followed by another 20-win campaign and the program’s first Mid-Continent Conference regular season and tournament championships in 1994-95.

Last Matchup – Valpo 76, Evansville 69: Valpo went on the road and garnered its first Missouri Valley Conference victory on Jan. 14, fending off Evansville 76-69. Kobe King made big plays in the second half, finishing a rebound shy of a double-double while registering 15 of his game-high 20 points after halftime. He drilled clutch free throws late and went 8-of-9 at the foul line to lead four Beacons in double figures. The Valpo advantage peaked at 18 in a game where the Purple Aces rallied to make it interesting, thanks in part to 36 free-throw attempts (although they misfired on half of those tries).

New Places, Same Faces

• Saturday’s game vs. Evansville continues a season-long trend of former members of the Valpo basketball program returning to the ARC as part of the opposing coaching staff. The Purple Aces are under the direction of first-year head coach David Ragland, who spent two seasons on head coach Matt Lottich’s coaching staff in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
• On Dec. 21, Stonehill assistant coach Jason Karys made a return visit to Northwest Indiana. Karys is a former Valpo student manager, walk-on player, graduate assistant and Director of Basketball Operations.
• The Dec. 6 game featured another familiar face as Trinity Christian is guided by head coach Jason Hawkins, who played at Valpo from 2000-2003 and was part of the 2002 NCAA Tournament team. He also spent two seasons coaching at his alma mater.
• The first reunion game of the year was on Nov. 19, when Chris Artis returned to the building as an Incarnate Word assistant coach. He played at Valpo in the mid-1990s and helped the program to its first Mid-Continent Conference regular season and tournament championships en route to an NCAA Tournament berth in 1995-96. The next year, he again led the team to regular season and tournament titles as well as an NCAA Tournament return.

Rebounding Resilience

• During the Jan. 25 game at UNI, Valpo pulled down 12 offensive rebounds, tied for the team’s second-highest single-game total this season.
• This marked a significant uptick on the offensive glass as the Beacons had five total offensive rebounds over the previous two games (two vs. UIC, three at Illinois State).
• The last time Valpo had a double-figure offensive rebound effort was 12 on Dec. 6 vs. Trinity Christian. The only game this season with more than a dozen was Dec. 4 vs. Murray State (15).
• Meanwhile, UNI had just three offensive rebounds, the fewest permitted by the Beacons this season. The three offensive caroms tied a season low for the Panthers.

Double-Double Details

• Kobe King scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on Jan. 25 at UNI, notching the third double-double by a Valpo player this season.
• King joins Nick Edwards on Dec. 21 vs. Stonehill (20 points, 12 assists) and Ben Krikke on Nov. 7 at Toledo (18 points, 13 rebounds) as the three Beacons with double-doubles in 2022-2023.
• This marked Valpo’s first double-double in conference play since Feb. 21 of last season, when both King and Edwards turned the trick against Evansville.
• This was King’s third career double-double, joining Feb. 5, 2022 vs. Indiana State (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Feb. 21, 2022 vs. Evansville (12 points, 10 rebounds).
• The dozen rebounds against the Panthers represented a career high for King. He outdid his previous career high of 11 on Feb. 5, 2022 vs. Indiana State and his previous season high of nine on Jan. 14, 2023 at Evansville.

Krikke Still Sharing & Scoring

• The performance of Ben Krikke was a major bright spot in the Jan. 25 loss at UNI. He poured in a game-high 22 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.
• Krikke became the first Valpo player with 20+ points, 8+ rebounds and 5+ assists in a game since Javon Freeman-Liberty on March 7, 2020, a win over Missouri State that sent Valpo to the championship game of the State Farm MVC Tournament.
• Krikke becomes just the sixth different Valpo player since 2010-11 to record that stat line, joining a star-studded list that includes Brandon Wood, Ryan Broekhoff, Alec Peters (twice), Tevonn Walker and Javon Freeman-Liberty (twice).
• Krikke also had two steals against the Panthers. He became just the third Valpo player since 2010 with 20+ points, 8+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 2+ steals in a game, joining Walker and Freeman-Liberty (twice).
• The 22 points marked Krikke’s highest scoring output in his last 13 games since he went off for 31 on Dec. 4. vs. Murray State.
• Krikke now has five assists in three of his last four games.
• Krikke’s Jan. 25 game against the Panthers also saw him grab eight boards for the second straight game. He pulled down five offensive caroms, tying a season high set on Nov. 23 at Samford.
• The 6-foot-9 senior had nine total assists in 15 games this season (0.6 apg) prior to Jan. 4 vs. UNI. He now has multiple assists in each of his last seven contests and 30 total assists in that span (4.3 apg), over seven times his assist per game average from the season’s first 15 games.
• In the Jan. 4 game vs. UNI, he gave out a team-high six assists, shattering his previous career high of five set on Jan. 26, 2021 vs. Bradley. He again tallied five helpers on Jan. 14 at Evansville and Jan. 17 vs. UIC, making it 10 assists in a two-game span.

Krikke Keeps Climbing   

• Ben Krikke moved up another spot on Valpo’s all-time scoring list in the Jan. 25 game at UNI. He made his way past Milo Stovall (1998-2002; 1,345) for 17^th all-time.
• Entering Jan. 28 vs. Evansville, Krikke has 1,361 career points, just 17 points away from tying and 18 from passing Mike Jones (1986-90; 1,378) for 16^th. The threshold to get into the top 15 is Jeff Simmons (1978-82) at 1,395.
• Krikke cracked the top 20 on Valpo’s all-time scoring list when he scored the first basket of the game on Dec. 18 vs. Elon, and moved up to 19^th on Jan. 4 vs. UNI.

Streak Snapped

• The 77-66 loss at UNI on Jan. 25 dashed a three-game winning streak for the Beacons.
• Thanks to victories over Evansville, UIC and Illinois State, Valpo owned its first three-game winning streak of the season. Its last such streak occurred last season – a stretch that featured wins over Eastern Michigan, William & Mary and Illinois State in late December and early January.
• This was Valpo’s first three-game league-only winning streak since late January 2021 (at Illinois State twice, vs. Bradley).
• The Beacons won back-to-back MVC road games (at Evansville, at Illinois State) for the first time since sweeping two at Illinois State on Jan. 23-24, 2020.
• Valpo won back-to-back league games by double figures (vs. UIC, at Illinois State) for the first time since downing Bradley and Missouri State late in the 2020 regular season.

Double Figure Streak

• The only player in the Missouri Valley Conference who has scored in double figures in each of his team’s games this season is Kobe King, who has scored 10+ in 22 straight.
• King has entered the list of longest double-figure scoring streaks in recent Valpo memory. Javon Freeman-Liberty scored in double figures in all 29 regular season games that he played during the 2019-20 season before seeing his streak snapped in the first MVC Tournament game. Alec Peters scored in double figures in all 29 games he played in 2016-17 before seeing his season cut short by an injury.
• King has scored in double figures in 41 of his 45 games in a Valpo uniform.
• The former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball has scored 15 points or more in 15 of his 21 games this season. He has seven 20-point outputs this year and has scored 15 or more points in 25 of his 44 games with the Beacons.
• King is up to 46 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.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Jan. 25: UNI 77, Valpo 66

• Nick Edwards tallied 12 points, joining Ben Krikke (22) and Kobe King (14) in double figures.
• Krikke led the team in scoring for the 10^th time this season. This marked the 18^th time in 22 games that either Krikke or King has served as the team’s leading scorer.
• Edwards enjoyed his fourth consecutive double-figure scoring output. He also had five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• All five UNI starters scored in double figures, led by Bowen Born’s 18 points and Tytan Anderson’s double-double of 17 and 10.
• The 3-point arc was the biggest Achilles’ heel for the Beacons, who went just 8-of-31 (26 percent) from long range. This was Valpo’s lowest 3-point percentage in a game with 30 or more attempts since Jan. 29, 2020 at Bradley.
• UNI outscored Valpo 23-8 at the free-throw line and shot 82 percent from the stripe on 28 attempts.

Krikke in Select Company

• Ben Krikke is one of six players in the country (and one of only two mid-major players) who is averaging at least 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting better than 75 percent from the free-throw line and better than 50 percent from the field.
• He joins Chattanooga’s Jake Stephens, Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis, Louisiana State’s K.J. Williams and Penn State’s Jalen Pickett.
• Krikke is on pace to become just the third different Missouri Valley Conference player since 2005 to average at least 17 points and five boards while shooting better than 75 percent from the free-throw line and 50 percent from the field. He would join Missouri State’s Isiaih Mosley and Creighton’s Doug McDermott, who did so twice each.
• Krikke is the only player in The Valley averaging 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Edwards Anecdotes

• Valpo point guard Nick Edwards leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 19^th nationally with 107 total assists. He and Drake’s Roman Penn are tied for the league lead.
• Edwards is averaging 8.0 points per game and 4.9 assists per game. Just two Valpo players in the last 30 years have finished a season with 8.0 ppg and 5.0 apg – Ali Berdiel (2003-04) and Bryce Drew (three times, 1994-1998).
• If Edwards stays on his current pace, he would post Valpo’s highest apg number since Berdiel’s 6.0 in 2003-2004.

Among Conference & National Leaders

• Valpo has two of the top four players in the MVC in terms of field goals made and two of the top 40 nationally. Ben Krikke leads the conference and ranks sixth in the nation with 157 made field goals, while Kobe King ranks fourth in the conference and 38^th nationally with 140.
• Valpo is one of two teams in the country with two players in the top 40 nationally in terms of field goals made, joining Marshall.
• Krikke and King also represent two of the league’s top five players in terms of scoring average. Krikke’s 17.6 points per game rank fourth in The Valley with King not far behind at 16.9 ppg, fifth.
• Valpo is the only team in the conference with two players who rank in the top 10 in the league in scoring average.

Scouting the Purple Aces

• Coming off a competitive game on Wednesday vs. MVC co-leader Belmont, eventually falling 73-64 in what was a four-point game at halftime.
• Also played Southern Illinois (L 77-70) and Drake (L 97-61) since their first matchup with the Beacons.
• Led in scoring by Kenny Strawbridge at 15.1 points per game.
• Picked to finish 12^th of 12 in the MVC preseason poll.
• Have lost nine straight since beating Bellarmine on Dec. 21.

Starters Cemented?  

• Ben Krikke, Kobe King and Quinton Green have been fixtures in the starting lineup this season as all three have started each of the first 22 games.
• The other two spots rotated some earlier in the season, but Valpo seems to have found a consistent starting five with Maximus Nelson (13 starts) serving as Krikke’s front court mate.
• Nick Edwards (14 starts) has started 11 straight games at point guard.
• Valpo has featured the same starting five in seven straight games.

Ben Bits

• Ben Krikke has reached double figures in 20 of his 22 games this season including seven outputs of 20 points or more.
• Krikke has scored 15+ points in 17 out of 22 contests.
• 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.
• 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.

Routing the Redbirds

• Valpo’s 71-51 win over Illinois State on Jan. 21 marked the team’s largest margin of victory in a regular season Missouri Valley Conference game since joining the league. Prior to that, the team’s most lopsided win in an MVC contest was 17, and that occurred on three occasions – February 2021 vs. No. 25 Drake, February 2020 vs. Southern Illinois and January 2018 vs. Drake.
• The team does own a pair of 22-point blowouts of Valley foes since joining the league, but both of those occurred in the State Farm MVC Tournament – 2022 vs. Evansville and 2019 vs. Indiana State.
• The 20-point drilling in Normal marked the first time Valpo went on the road and prevailed by such a lopsided margin since a 94-69 win at SIUE on Nov. 15, 2017.
• This was the team’s first regular-season conference victory by 20 points or more since beating Detroit Mercy 83-63 on Feb. 19, 2017 in the final road game of Alec Peters’ career.
• The 20-point win represented Valpo’s largest margin of victory against Illinois State in the 22 all-time matchups. Previously, Valpo’s most lopsided wins over the Redbirds were a pair of 49-31 triumphs in 1943 and 1944.
• Valpo handed Illinois State its most lopsided home loss since Dec. 1, 2010, an 82-51 defeat to UNLV.
• Valpo became just the third MVC team with a road win of 20 points or more this season, joining Southern Illinois on Nov. 30 at Evansville (80-53) and Drake on Jan. 21 at Evansville (97-61).
• The head-to-head series has been heavily tilted in Valpo’s favor in recent years as the Beacons have prevailed in nine of the last 10 matchups.

The Green Light

• Quinton Green drilled 3-pointer after 3-pointer on Jan. 21 in Normal, Ill., bagging six total triples on his way to a season-high 26 points in the win over Illinois State.
• Green outdid his previous season high of 20 points, which he had reached on Nov. 7 at Toledo and Nov. 19 vs. Incarnate Word. He was four points away from his overall career high of 30 that came in 2019 while playing for Division-II Cedarville.
• The six made treys represented a career high including his time at Cedarville. Previously, he had made five 3s on five occasions, including three times this year.
• Green becomes the first Valpo player to nail six 3s in a game since Mileek McMillan on Feb. 19, 2020 at Drake.
• Green hit his marks with an efficient shooting showing as he went 9-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 from long distance.
• Since the start of the 2015-2016 season, only three Valpo players have shot better than 80 percent from the field with 10 or more field-goal attempts against a Division-I opponent. All three of those instances have occurred at Illinois State – Javon Freeman-Liberty (11-of-13) and Derrik Smits (8-of-10) both did so on Feb. 5, 2019.

Shooting Shines

• The shooting numbers told the story in Valpo’s 20-point win at Illinois State on Jan. 21. The Beacons shot a season-best 57.4 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from 3, also a season watermark.
• The field goal percentage was Valpo’s best since shooting 58.3 percent in the MVC Tournament opener vs. Evansville last season.
• This marked just the second time since the start of the 2014-15 season that Valpo shot 57 percent or better in a true road game, behind only 60 percent on Feb. 19 of last season at Evansville.
• The 3-point field goal percentage was Valpo’s best since shooting 57.1 percent from distance on Feb. 27, 2021 vs. Indiana State. This was the program’s highest 3-point shooting clip in a road game since also shooting 56.3 percent at SIUE on Nov. 15, 2017 and best in a conference road game since 62.5 on Jan. 20, 2015 at Youngstown State.
• This marked the first time Valpo shot 57 percent or better overall and 56 percent or better from 3-point range in the same game since Nov. 10, 2013 vs. North Park. The last time Valpo turned that trick in a game against a Division-I opponent was Feb. 5, 2013 vs. UIC.

Defense Dominates

• Valpo held Illinois State to 51 points on Jan. 21, the fewest points scored by a Valpo opponent since Dec. 6, 2020, when Judson was kept to 45 points.
• The 51 points were the fewest Valpo has permitted against a Division-I opponent since beating Southern Illinois 55-38 on Feb. 12, 2020.
• This marked the fewest points Valpo allowed in a road game since a 66-43 victory at Cleveland State on Feb. 16, 2016.
• Valpo’s field-goal percentage defense of 33.9 was a season best. This marked the team’s best since Feb. 27, 2021, when the Brown & Gold held Indiana State to 32.7 percent from the field. It was Valpo’s best field goal percentage defense in a road game since Feb. 13, 2021 at UNI (also 33.9 percent).
• Illinois State was held to its worst shooting percentage in a conference home game since Feb. 6, 2016 vs. Wichita State (27.3 percent).

Other Notes Wrapping Up Jan. 21: Valpo 71, Illinois State 51

• Quinton Green (26) was joined in double figures by Kobe King (15), Ben Krikke (10) and Nick Edwards (10).
• All of Edwards’ scoring damage came after halftime, but he dished out five of his seven assists in the opening 20 minutes.
• King made seven of his 12 field-goal attempts and has knocked down 15 shots over the last two games. Krikke squeezed a team-high eight rebounds, tying for his highest output on the glass in league play this year.
• Darius DeAveiro returned to action after missing the previous two games with a knee injury.
• Ibra Bayu had four points, five rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot.
• Connor Barrett canned a pair of 3s for the second straight game and is up to 42.2 percent for the season.
• Illinois State was led by Darius Burford, who poured in 23 points.
• The only two blemishes on an otherwise dominant victory were free throw shooting and offensive rebounding. Valpo had its worst performance at the charity stripe in league play, going 8-of-14 (57.1 percent), the team’s second-worst of the season behind 8-of-17 (52.9 percent) against Stonehill.
• On the offensive glass, Valpo picked up just three boards and has five total offensive rebounds over the last two games. Illinois State had 11 offensive caroms, creating Valpo’s worst offensive rebounding margin since Jan. 2, 2022, also vs. Illinois State.

Milestones Met

• Kobe King reached a significant career milestone on Jan. 10 vs. Belmont at the Athletics-Recreation Center. At the 13:41 mark of the second half, he made his milestone basket to reach the 1,000-point threshold. He was recognized with a nice ovation at the next timeout.
• Quinton Green surpassed the 1,500-point mark for his career on Jan. 17 vs. UIC. He scored 1,288 of those points during his five years at Cedarville prior to joining Valpo’s program.
• King was recognized prior to the Jan. 17 game against UIC as Director of Athletics Dr. Charles Small and head coach Matt Lottich presented him with a commemorative game ball.
• King registered 386 points over his three seasons at Wisconsin and has done the rest of the damage during his two-year run with the Beacons.
• King became the second Valpo player to score his 1,000^th collegiate point this season. Ben Krikke achieved the feat in the Nov. 13 home-opening victory over Western Michigan.
• Three members of Valpo’s starting lineup are 1,000-point scorers as Quinton Green reached the milestone while playing at Division-II Cedarville
• Prior to this year, the last Valpo player to join that esteemed group was current graduate assistant Tevonn Walker exactly five years prior to Krikke’s milestone – Nov. 13, 2017 vs. Trinity Christian.

Scoring & Helping

• Since the start of the 2010-2011 season, there have been seven instances of a Valpo player with 20 or more points and five or more assists in a game, and three of those seven performances have occurred this season.
• Most recently, Ben Krikke turned in 20 points and six assists in the Jan. 4 game vs. UNI. That came after Nick Edwards achieved the feat on both Dec. 21 vs. Stonehill and Dec. 6 vs. Trinity Christian.
• Prior to this year, Javon Freeman-Liberty was the last player with 20+ points and 6+ assists in a game on Dec. 21, 2019 vs. Arkansas, and before that it was LaVonte Dority back on Nov. 29, 2013 vs. Mercer. Ryan Broekhoff (Nov. 11, 2011 vs. Duquesne) and Brandon Wood (Nov. 12, 2010 vs. IU Northwest) also achieved the stat line.

Stat Sheet Stuffing

• In the Dec. 29 game at Drake, Nick Edwards had his third straight game with six or more rebounds, six or more assists and two or more steals.
• He finished the game against the Bulldogs with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and a season-high five steals. He became the first Valpo player with five steals in a game since Connor Barrett on Jan. 9, 2021 vs. Missouri State.
• In the game at Drake, Edwards became the first Valpo player with 10+ points, 5+ steals, 5+ assists and 5+ rebounds in a game since Ryan Broekhoff on Feb. 10, 2011 vs. Detroit Mercy. Edwards became the 22^nd player nationally to post such a stat line this season.
• Edwards displayed his holiday spirit the week leading into Christmas by dishing out 13 assists on Dec. 18 vs. Elon and 12 on Dec. 21 vs. Stonehill.
• Edwards became the fourth player nationally with multiple games of 12+ assists this season, joining Yuri Collins of Saint Louis, Tyler Robertson of Portland and Markquis Nowell of Kansas State. His 13-assist game ranked tied for ninth nationally and his 12-assist game ranked tied for 13^th at the time it occurred.
• Prior to Dec. 18, the last time a Valpo player had 12 or more assists in a single game was Bryce Drew on Jan. 21, 1995 vs. Eastern Illinois. Edwards then turned the trick in consecutive contests.
• In the game against Stonehill, he posted a double-double with 18 of his 20 points coming after halftime, when he knocked down six of his seven field-goal attempts. That marked Valpo’s second double-double of the season and first since Ben Krikke had 18 points and 13 rebounds in the Nov. 7 season opener at Toledo.
• Edwards became just the 11^th player in the nation with a 20-point, 10-assist game this season. He became the first player in the nation to notch 20 or more points and 12 or more assists in a game this year. The last time that happened nationally was Yuri Collins of Saint Louis on Feb. 2, 2022 at George Mason. No Missouri Valley Conference player had achieved that feat in the last decade prior to Edwards.
• Edwards had Valpo’s first 20&10 game since Kobe King on Feb. 5, 2022 vs. Indiana State (24 points, 11 rebounds).
• Edwards posted the first points-assists double-double by a Valpo player since Ron Howard (15 points, 10 assists) on Jan. 24, 2005.
• Edwards also swiped four steals and collected six rebounds in the win over Stonehill. He became just the second player in the nation this season with 20 or more points, 10 or more assists, five or rebounds and four or more steals, joining UConn’s Tristen Newton (Nov. 15 vs. Buffalo).
• He finished just three assists shy of a longstanding program record for dimes in a single game by dishing out 13 in the Dec. 18 victory over Elon.
• He became the first member of the program to give out 13 or more assists in a single game since Todd Smith on Feb. 22, 1986 vs. Eastern Illinois.
• Edwards became just the 10^th player in the nation to notch 13 or more assists in a single game in 2022-23.
• Prior to this season, only one Valpo player over the previous decade (Deion Lavender, twice) had accrued 10 or more assists in a game. Now, two different Beacons have done so this year with Edwards joining Darius DeAviero (Nov. 13 vs. Western Michigan).
• This marks the first season where two different Valpo players have had double-figure assist games since 2004-05 (Ron Howard and Seth Colclasure).
• The program record of 16 assists in a game came courtesy of John McIlvain on Jan. 13, 1983 at UIC.
• The 13 assists nearly doubled Edwards’ previous season best of seven that came on Dec. 6 vs. Trinity Christian.

Lottich Leaps J.M. Christiansen

• Valpo head coach Matt Lottich moved into sole possession of third in program history when he garnered his 103^rd career victory on Dec. 21 vs. Stonehill. That triumph helped him snap a tie with J.M. Christiansen (1929-1941) for third all-time.
• Lottich reached the 100-win milestone with an 81-79 overtime victory over James Madison on Nov. 27 in Savannah, Ga.
• The former Stanford sharpshooter became just the fourth head coach in program history to get to 100 wins, joining Homer Drew, Bryce Drew and J.M. Christiansen.
• Lottich is now trailing only the Drews on the program’s all-time wins list.

Name                          Years                                      Wins

Homer Drew               1988-2002; 2003-2011           371

Bryce Drew                 2011-2016                               124

Matt Lottich                2017-pres.                               106

J.M. Christiansen       1929-1941                               102

In the Nick of Time

• Fifth-year senior Nick Edwards became the latest entry on the list of Valpo basketball players who have hit game-winning shots in the final five seconds of regulation or overtime when he drove to the basket and scored in the closing ticks of OT to lift Valpo past James Madison 81-79 on Sunday in Savannah, Ga.
• This was Valpo’s first game-winning shot since March 6, 2020, Eron Gordon’s memorable basket to beat Loyola at the MVC Tournament in St. Louis.
• The bucket by Edwards marked Valpo’s 26^th last-second shot in the final five seconds since the start of the 1992-93 season.
• There have been four total last-second shots during the Lottich Era, with Javon Freeman-Liberty vs. Toledo to open the 2019-20 season and Markus Golder’s 50-footer at the buzzer to beat Illinois State on Jan. 2, 2019 joining the aforementioned baskets by Edwards and Gordon.

A Quality Victory

• James Madison entered the game against Valpo at No. 78 in the KenPom rankings and had a 6-1 record with the lone loss coming 80-64 at the nation’s No. 1 team, North Carolina.
• The Dukes were a top-50 NET team in the first release of NET rankings and represented a Quad 1 win for Valpo.
• The Dukes entered the game leading the nation in scoring margin by outscoring the opposition by an average of 34.7 points per game.
• James Madison entered the contest third in the nation in scoring offense at 94.9 points per game, but the Beacons kept the Dukes to just 79 points despite playing an extra five minutes.
• James Madison had downed South Dakota State 79-60 after Valpo fell to the defending Summit League champion Jackrabbits by a 61-50 score as part of the multi-team event.

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.

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... Is teaching himself how to cook.
• #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 – Married his wife Liana English on Aug. 20, 2022. They met at Cedarville, where she was a member of the women's tennis team... 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.

Who’s Next?

• Valpo signed a trio of incoming student-athletes during the early signing period in November.
• 6-foot-9 forward Zane Dougherty (Avon, Ind. / Ben Davis), 6-foot-1 point guard Jahari Williamson (Pickering, Ontario, Canada / Royal Crown Academy) and 6-foot-6 combo guard Yanis Bamba (Laval, Quebec, Canada / Jean-de-Brebeuf) are poised to join the Valpo program for the 2023-2024 season.
• Lottich on Bamba: “Yanis is a little bit of a late bloomer,” Lottich said. “He’s from a very similar area to where Max (Joseph) and Tevonn (Walker) are from. He’s a native French speaker. He’s a big-body guard, about 6-6, 200. He’s very athletic and a very good passer. He was excited about the opportunity to come to Valpo, where he’s seen the improvement that players make here. I think he will come in and be able to compete right away because of his athleticism, size and physicality. He’s just scratching the surface of who he is as a basketball player.”
• Lottich on Williamson: “We saw Jahari in Milwaukee for the first time,” Lottich said. “The Canadian pipeline that we’ve had has been really good to us. He’s cerebral, and he shoots it really well. Recruiting internationally can be tougher because you don’t get your eyes on the players as much, but we were able to see Jahari play in some Canadian games where he was in high-level environments. This was similar to how we recruited Ben Krikke. Right now, Jahari is one of the five best players in Canada. His ability to stretch the defense and play with pick-and-rolls with the ball in his hands is going to be big for us.”
• Lottich on Doughty: “We saw him at a high school showcase, and what we really liked was his motor as a big man,” Lottich said. “There’s one thing that we don’t want to have to coach, and that’s effort. When you recruit big men, they are typically coming into their own and then have vast improvements when they get to college. In Zane’s case, one thing that really stood out to us was just how tenacious he was on both ends of the floor. He was rebounding out of his area and loves contact. We followed him throughout the summer and got to watch him play in a few high-level games. We love his toughness, and he really fits Valpo. He saw the family atmosphere at Valpo, and that resonated with him. His family is really important to him.”

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.