The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team fell against SEC opponent Texas A&M Wednesday evening in College Station, Texas by a 71-49 final.

How It Happened

• Valpo took the early lead as junior Bakari Evelyn (Detroit, Mich./Hillcrest Academy/Southfield Christian [Nebraska]) hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game. But the Aggies put together a 20-2 run over the next seven-plus minutes to go ahead by 15, forcing a pair of early Valpo timeouts.
• Texas A&M led by as many as 22 in the first half, pulling out to a 33-11 lead with 2:58 to play in the period. Valpo would close the half on a 7-1 spurt, however, including five points from sophomore Mileek McMillan (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville), to pull to within 34-18 at halftime.
• Valpo continued to chip away at the lead as the second half got under way, getting to within 11 at 45-34 with 11:45 to play after back-to-back second-chance baskets.
• Valpo actually had the ball with a chance to cut the deficit to single digits, but a turnover led to a 3-pointer for the Aggies, and Valpo got no closer than 13 the rest of the way.

Inside the Game

• Valpo struggled shooting the ball for the second straight game, hitting just 34% overall from the field, including just 3-of-22 from 3-point range.
• Wednesday marked the first time Valpo failed to hit the 50-point mark since its 43-41 loss to Milwaukee in the 2017 Horizon League Tournament.
• The losses to Ball State and Texas A&M are Valpo’s first consecutive losses of the season.
• Evelyn scored 10 points to pace Valpo on Wednesday, while freshman Javon Freeman (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) tallied nine points.
• Junior Derrik Smits (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) added eight points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbed a team-best six rebounds.

Next Up

Valpo (6-6) is off until after Christmas, returning to action with its final non-conference game of the season on Saturday, Dec. 29 at the ARC against Purdue Northwest.