A late surge helped the Valparaiso University men’s basketball team cut a 20-point deficit to as few as six, but visiting Ashland closed out an 87-78 victory in the exhibition opener at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Sheldon Edwards (West Palm Beach, Fla. / Palm Beach, Fla.) exploded for 32 points on seven made 3s, while Thomas Kithier (Macomb, Mich. / Clarkston [Michigan State]) poured in a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds on an efficient 7-of-8 shooting in his first game action in a Valpo uniform. The game marked the return of spectators to the ARC for the first time since the end of the 2019-2020 season prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

How It Happened

• Ashland jumped out to an early lead, and held a 15-10 advantage at the first media timeout behind three 3s and a 6-for-6 shooting showing. The Beacons also knocked down 80 percent of their shots in the early going, including a pair of Edwards’ triples.
• By the midway mark of the first half, Valpo had leveled the score at 21-all with 10:28 on the clock with both teams enjoying hot shooting.
• Valpo grabbed its first lead of the game on a layup by Kithier with 3:10 left in the opening half that put the hosts on top 40-39.
• The lead swayed back and forth for the final three minutes of the half, with Valpo regaining the edge on an Edwards steal and score with 1:35 to play. However, the Eagles hit a 3 with 1:16 on the clock and that stood as the final points of the half, allowing the guests to enter the locker room leading by two. 
• Ashland shot 61.5 percent in the game’s opening 20 minutes, while Valpo posted an also-strong clip of 52.9 percent. Kithier drained all four of his first-half shots, while Edwards led all scorers with 15 at the break.  
• An Edwards trey trimmed the Ashland lead to two with 15:06 left of second-half time, but the Eagles followed with an 8-0 run featuring two triples of their own to expand the lead to double figures at 61-51 with 13:04 on the clock.
• Another seven-point surge by Ashland saw the lead bulge to 14 with 11:11 to play. By the time the game reached the 6:45 mark, Ashland had upped the lead to 20 at 80-60.
• The Beacons went on an 18-4 spurt (including a 10-0 run) to shrink the lead to six at 84-78 when Edwards drained a 3 with 1:42 to go, but the Beacons couldn’t get over the final hump and incurred a nine-point setback.

Inside the Game

• Edwards (32) and Kithier (16) were joined in double figures by Kevion Taylor (Milwaukee, Wis. / Whitnall [Winona State]), who posted 13 points to go along with six rebounds.
• Newcomers accounted for 60 percent of the starting lineup as Taylor, Kithier and Trevor Anderson (Stevens Point, Wis. / SPASH [ Wisconsin]) joined Edwards and Ben Krikke (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada [Jasper Place]).
• Seven of the 10 players who saw action on Saturday are newcomers.
• Anderson dished out a team-high six assists to go along with nine points.
• Edwards nailed seven of his 14 3-point attempts and shot 11-of-21 from the field.
• Valpo finished the game at a 47.5 percent shooting clip, while Ashland turned in a robust shooting percentage of 61.1 including 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from 3.
• All five Eagle starters were in double figures, led by Hunter Shedenhelm with 16 points including four 3s.  
• Ashland is the defending champion of its conference and went to the Division-II NCAA Tournament last season, winning a game in the D-II Midwest Regional.

Postgame Press Conference

Click here for postgame press conference.

Up Next

Valpo will take on another Division-II powerhouse next Thursday, Nov. 4 as Flagler comes to the Athletics-Recreation Center for a 6 p.m. tip to close out the exhibition slate. No video streaming is available for exhibition games, but the game will be broadcast on 95.1 FM Valparaiso, ValpoAthletics.com and the TuneIn radio app with Todd Ickow on the call. For ticket information, visits valpoathletics.com/tickets.