East-West University
at Valparaiso (4-5, 0-1 MVC)

Game No. 10 – Tuesday, Dec. 7, 6 p.m. CT
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) – Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will begin the program’s longest homestand since 1994 on Tuesday night. An exciting stretch of basketball with numerous opportunities for fans to pack the ARC will begin against East-West University. After winning three of their last four games and four of six since the season debut of leading scorer Ben Krikke, Valpo will receive another boost on Tuesday as Kobe King will make his Beacon debut after sitting out the first nine games.

Last Time Out: Valpo captured its fourth win in six games by going on the road and besting Western Michigan 71-60 on Sunday in Kalamazoo. The Beacons got 19 points from Thomas Kithier, who knocked down eight of his 11 field-goal attempts to equal his most efficient performance of the season. Sheldon Edwards (15) and Trevor Anderson (11) also finished in double figures, while the 60 points marked a season best in terms of scoring defense for the Beacons. Valpo graduate Mileek McMillan scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Western Michigan in a reunion game for the Northwest Indiana native.  

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

Valpo 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 (87-83) is in his ninth season overall at Valparaiso University and sixth as the head coach of the men’s basketball program in 2021-2022. The 2020-2021 season saw Valpo improve its Arch Madness seeding for the fourth straight year as the program continued to make positive strides in each season as a Missouri Valley Conference member. The team earned a first-round bye in the State Farm MVC Tournament for the first time since joining the prestigious league. Valpo upset previously-undefeated Drake, the nation’s No. 25 team, 74-57 on Feb. 7, 2021 at the ARC, the fourth win over an AP Top 25 team in program history and second under Lottich. The Bulldogs were one of three undefeated teams in the nation prior to that setback, joining Gonzaga and Baylor. Just two years removed from finishing in last place and being knocked out in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as a first-year Valley member, Lottich’s team did more than hold its own in 2019-2020, ascending into a tie for sixth in the league standings before finishing as the conference tournament runner-up. Valpo became the first team in the history of Arch Madness to reach the title game after playing in the opening round. 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 be the first time the Phantoms and Beacons have faced off.

The Return of the King: Kobe King will make his Valpo debut on Tuesday after sitting out the first nine games of the season before becoming eligible. This will mark his first collegiate game since Jan. 24, 2020 for Wisconsin in a game against Purdue. He played in 19 contests (all starts) and averaged 10.0 points per game for the Badgers in 2019-2020. King turned in a team-high 12.6 points per game during Big Ten play over nine appearances, all starts. A former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball, Gatorade Player of the Year and a unanimous selection for Associated Press Player of the Year, King led La Crosse Central to a 26-2 record and a state title as a high school senior.

Notes Wrapping Up Dec. 5: Valpo 71, Western Michigan 60

• Valpo snapped a seven-game road losing streak to the Broncos and won in Kalamazoo for the first time since Dec. 20, 1958, a 90-65 triumph.
• The 11-point margin of victory marked Valpo’s largest of the season against a Division-I team. In addition, this was the squad’s most lopsided road win since Feb. 13, 2021 at UNI (70-57) and most lopsided nonconference road victory since Dec. 18, 2019 at High Point (W 87-72).
• The 60 points permitted marked a season best for the Valpo defense.
• Thomas Kithier hit double figures for the first time in the last seven games and the third time this season with his 19-point output. All three of his double-figure performances have featured 16 points or more. He corralled six rebounds and swatted a pair of shots.
• Sheldon Edwards reached double figures for the eighth time in nine games this year, posting 15 points to go along with four rebounds, a block, a steal and two assists. The block was his 16^th of the season, already over double his 27-game total of seven from his freshman year. Edwards has made a 3 in all nine games this season, and blocked a shot in eight of them. He also swiped a steal for the eighth straight game in the victory at WMU.
• Eron Gordon and Trevor Anderson shared the team lead with four assists apiece. Gordon also contributed four rebounds and a season-high three steals.
• Keyondre Young chipped in eight points off the Beacon bench, while Anderson joined Kithier and Edwards in double figures with 11. Anderson also accrued four rebounds and four assists while reaching double figures for the fourth straight game and sixth time in nine appearances this season. The Valpo point guard is averaging 13.5 points per game over his last four outings.
• Ben Krikke squeezed a season-high eight rebounds including three on the offensive glass. Valpo prevailed despite a rare quiet shooting night from their leading scorer, as Krikke was held to seven points. Valpo improved to 4-2 since the 6-foot-9 forward returned from missing the first three games of the season with an injury.
• Valpo limited Western Michigan’s Lamar Norman Jr. to 1-of-8 from 3 after he entered the game leading the nation in made 3s per game.

Sunday Funday: With the Dec. 5 win at Western Michigan, Valpo improved to 17-11 (.607) on Sundays during Matt Lottich’s head coaching tenure. That marks the team’s best winning percentage under Lottich on any day of the week. Sadly, Valpo has only one Sunday game the remainder of the regular season – Jan. 2 vs. Illinois State.

Career Milestone Watch

• Eron Gordon enters Dec. 7 vs. East-West 38 points away from 500 for his collegiate career. With his four rebounds on Dec. 5 at Western Michigan, he surpassed the 100 career rebound threshold.
• Kevion Taylor has scored over 1,700 career points and has well over 600 career rebounds. He is one of just 21 active NCAA players nationally in all divisions in the 1,700-point, 600-rebound club. He did much of his damage during 103 career games at D-II Winona State before grad transferring to Valpo prior to this season. He ranks 29^th among active players in all levels of college basketball in career points and 27^th in career made 3s.
• If Taylor is in the starting lineup on Dec. 7 vs. East-West, it will mark the 100^th start of his collegiate career.
• Ben Krikke has passed the 600-point mark this season and needs 42 more to get to 700.
• Trevor Anderson is one assist away from 100 for his career.

Home-Heavy Stretch on the Horizon: Sunday’s game at Western Michigan marked the final contest in a seven-game stretch where Valpo played six games away from the Athletics-Recreation Center (three road, three neutral site). Tuesday’s game will begin a home-heavy month where the Beacons will be in front of their home fans for six straight contests. Valpo will go a full month between road games from Dec. 5 to Jan. 5. From Dec. 5 to Jan. 21, the Beacons will spend just one night in a hotel (Jan. 4 at UNI). This is Valpo’s first homestand longer than four games since a five gamer from Nov. 25 to Dec. 12, 2003. This homestand will be Valpo’s longest since Jan. 21 to Feb. 6, 1994, a stretch of six straight at home against Eastern Illinois, Oral Roberts, Buffalo, Youngstown State, UMKC and Western Illinois. 

Sheldon The Shot Blocker

• Sheldon Edwards has blocked at least one shot in eight of the nine games he’s played this season.
• He had two rejections in the Dec. 2 game at Drake, his fifth multi-block game of the year including a career-high four on Nov. 13 vs. UIC.
• Edwards is up to 16 blocks this season, second most in Missouri Valley Conference and ranking in the top 50 nationally.
• The current sophomore blocked seven shots in 27 games last season, a number that he has over doubled in the first nine games of 2021-2022.

Notes Wrapping Up Dec. 2: Drake 73, Valpo 66

• Ben Krikke had 20 points, his third 20-point performance in five games this season. Prior to this year, Krikke had hit the 20-point threshold just twice over his first two collegiate seasons. He also had two blocks and has eight total rejections over five games, including at least one in each outing. This marked his third multi-block game of the year.
• Trevor Anderson finished with 13 points, his fifth double-figure output this season and third straight.
• Kevion Taylor returned to double figures with 11, his fifth such performance this season but his first in a three-game span.
• Valpo lost despite outshooting Drake 48.2 percent to 45.8 percent. The Beacons slipped to 3-3 this season when shooting at a higher clip than the opponent after entering the season 66-17 under Matt Lottich under those circumstances.
• Sheldon Edwards contributed seven points but was held out of double figures for the first time this season, ending an eight-game double figure streak that dated back to last year.
• Valpo hit a season-low four 3-pointers while giving up nine or more for the fifth time in eight games this season.
• Valpo did take care of the basketball, limiting its turnover total to eight. That marked the team’s second-lowest turnover output this year and the third time they’ve had fewer than 10 in a game.

Early Opener: When Valpo tipped off conference action on Dec. 2 at Drake, that marked the earliest the program has started conference competition since Dec. 2, 2010, when the team began Horizon League play with a 68-66 overtime victory at UIC. This year’s league opener snapped a streak of Valpo opening Missouri Valley Conference play at home in three straight seasons. Valpo fell to 1-4 in league lidlifters since joining The Valley and 2-5 in conference openers under Matt Lottich. The early opener came a year after Valpo tipped off league play on Jan. 9 vs. Missouri State, the team’s latest start to the conference docket since 2003. Valpo had won its first league road game in each of the last three seasons before this year’s setback. The team won at Missouri State in 2019, at Evansville in 2020 and at Illinois State in 2021.

#ChampionsInCommunity

• The Valpo basketball program received recognition from the Valparaiso University Student Philanthropy program on Sunday, Nov. 14.
• The team was recognized as part of the University’s annual Generosity Awards Celebration. Head coach Matt Lottich’s group was selected as the 2021 Athletic Team Awardee for the program’s community service and engagement.
• The team’s community engagement activities include participating in the Popcorn Fest, Valparaiso Downtown Trick or Treat, Valpo Day of Caring and beach cleanup at the Indiana Dunes National Park.
• In addition, the team hosts youth camps in the summer, working with children ages 6-14 to provide a fun and positive basketball experience.
• The program makes it a priority to attend as many Valpo Athletics events as possible to support other teams. The Beacons also make an effort to actively participate in the University community and support student organizations while also having an active presence as members of the broader City of Valparaiso and Northwest Indiana communities.
• Of the six core values that make up the foundation of the Valpo men’s basketball program, servanthood and appreciation are among the most prominent.

Beacon Bits

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

• #0 Thomas Kithier – Is an avid Detroit Lions fan and can name every player on the roster... Mother Jane played college volleyball at Eastern Michigan... Works in Valpo Athletics in ticketing, marketing and sports information.
• #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 whose best score is a 73.
• #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.
• #5 Keyondre Young – Enjoys observing nature and sightseeing... Enjoys watching movies and lists Blue Chips as his favorite.
• #10 Eron Gordon – Comes from a basketball family including brother Eric who has played in the NBA since 2008 and is currently a member of the Houston Rockets... Enjoys editing videos and podcasting.
• #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 Kevion Taylor – High school teammates with Tyler Herro of the NBA’s Miami Heat.
• #13 Sheldon Edwards – Has six siblings... Enjoys listening to music... Played for his uncle Louis Graham at TLAP Sports Academy for one year prior to coming to Valpo.
• #15 Luke Morrill – Walk-on who enjoys wakesurfing.
• #20 Tyler Fricke – Walk-on whose father Scott coached Matt Lottich in high school and brother Zach pitches for the Valpo baseball team.
• #21 Trevor Anderson – Father Scott was his high school coach at SPASH and played at UW-Stevens Point... Enjoys visiting coffee shops, traveling and cheering for the Dallas Cowboys.
• #22 Brock Pappas – Walk-on who is majoring in nursing and hopes to one day become a pediatric nurse and work at Riley Children’s Hospital.
• #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 Trey Woodyard – Maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school, earning a place on the honor roll every year.
• #35 Kobe King –Enjoys making music and writing song lyrics.

Notes Wrapping up Nov. 9: Toledo 69, Valpo 61

• Thomas Kithier scored 16 points in his Valpo debut to achieve a collegiate career high. He did it on 8-of-11 shooting and chipped in five rebounds. Kithier’s previous career high came on Nov. 10, 2019, when he scored 10 points in a Michigan State game against Binghamton.
• Trevor Anderson hit double figures for the 13^th time in his collegiate career (11 points) while reaching the five-assist threshold, pulling down five rebounds and committing no turnovers.
• Kevion Taylor tallied double figures for the 82^nd time in his collegiate career with his 12-point showing, while Sheldon Edwards scored 10 points for his 10^th career double-figure game.
• Valpo played without Preseason Second Team All-MVC choice Ben Krikke, who missed the game due to an injury.
• Six of the nine Beacons who saw action were newcomers.
• Eron Gordon made his 32^nd collegiate start (31^st at Valpo) while playing in his 112^th college game.

Forward Trajectory

• Valpo has improved its conference tournament seeding in each of its four Missouri Valley Conference seasons.
• The team entered Arch Madness as a No. 10 seed in 2017-18, a No. 9 seed in 2018-19, a No. 7 in 2019-20 and a No. 6 in 2020-21.
• With Year 4 in The Valley now in the books, Valpo has surpassed Loyola’s conference win total over its first four seasons in the league. Valpo garnered its 29^th MVC victory in the 2020-21 regular-season finale vs. Indiana State.
• The Ramblers went 27-45 over their first four seasons before going 57-16 over the following four seasons.
• Valpo has improved its conference finish in each season during the four-year transitional period after elevating to the prestigious and competitive conference.

More on 2020-21

• The 2020-21 season was highlighted by an upset victory over previously-undefeated Drake, the nation’s No. 25 team, 74-57 on Feb. 7, 2021 at the Athletics-Recreation Center, the fourth win over an AP Top 25 team in program history and second under Lottich. The Bulldogs were one of three undefeated teams in the nation prior to that setback, joining Gonzaga and Baylor.
• Valpo came close to two other victories over ranked foes, falling 80-77 vs. No. 25 Drake on Feb. 6 and 54-52 at No. 22 Loyola on Feb. 17.
• Valpo closed the regular season with a stretch of 16 Missouri Valley Conference games in a 39-day span. By comparison, Valpo had played three games over the previous 31 days before beginning the stretch of seemingly nonstop competition. Six of Valpo’s first eight MVC games were postponed due to COVID-19, causing the backlog of makeup games during the busy stretch.

2021-22 Preseason Picks

• Ben Krikke was named to the Preseason All-MVC Second Team.
• Valpo was picked seventh in the 10-team league based on a preseason survey of the conference’s head coaches, media members and sports information directors.
• Drake was tabbed the preseason favorite to win the league, while UNI’s AJ Green earned Preseason Player of the Year accolades.

Sustained Home Success

• The Athletics-Recreation Center has provided a distinct homecourt advantage over the years as Valpo has not finished with a losing mark at the ARC since 1991-92.
• Thanks to a victory in the 2020-21 home finale vs. Indiana State, the program finished with a record of .500 or better at home for the 29^th consecutive season.
• Valpo enjoyed double-figure home win totals in nine of 10 seasons prior to the unusual, pandemic-altered 2020-21 season. Due to health and safety regulations, fans were unable to pack the ARC as they have in years past.
• The ARC is back open to spectators without any capacity restrictions during the 2021-22 season, restoring the home court advantage Valpo has come to expect over the years.

Home-Heavy Schedule

• The historic home success is good news for Valpo this season, as the team will play 17 home games.
• The nonconference slate will be comprised of eight home dates, two road games and three neutral-site contests.
• Valpo most recently played 17 home games during the 2016-17 season. This will mark the team’s busiest home calendar since joining the Missouri Valley Conference.

Big Ten U

• Prior to this season, Valpo had just a pair of Big Ten transfers join the program over the last two decades (Bakari Evelyn and Bobby Capobiano).
• This year, the program has been bolstered by four additions from the Big Ten Conference. Trevor Anderson, Joe Hedstrom and Kobe King have all come in from Wisconsin, while Thomas Kithier joins the fold after beginning his career with three seasons at Michigan State.
• Four of the five transfers that have come in join the team from the Big Ten, while a fifth impact transfer began his career with four seasons at Division-II Winona State. Kevion Taylor was a three-time all-conference performer and was his conference’s preseason player of the year in 2020-21.
• King started all 19 games he played at Wisconsin in 2019-20, Anderson appeared in 60 of Wisconsin’s 62 games over the last two seasons and Kithier appeared in 86 games and made 19 starts for Tom Izzo’s team over his three seasons in East Lansing.

Who’s Back

• Although the team features five freshmen and the five aforementioned transfers, five scholarship players do return from last season.
• The squad brings back 47.9 percent of its scoring and 42.4 percent of its rebounding.
• Four of the team’s top six scorers are back.
• A pair of MVC postseason award winners remain in the fold for the Beacons as Sheldon Edwards was a member of the 2020-21 MVC All-Freshman Team, while Ben Krikke earned All-MVC Third Team, MVC Most-Improved Team and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, the lone player in the league to receive all three honors.
• Seven letter winners are back from last year’s team, while nine have departed. Three starters return and three left. (Note: Starters based on top five players in number of games started. Six players were considered starters due to a tie for fifth).

Staff Sidebars

• Associate head coach Luke Gore is in his 20^th 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 11 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 fourth season after spending the previous two years on staff at Eastern Illinois, his alma mater.
• Director of Basketball Operations Peter Funk is in his first 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.
• Bob Brooks is in his 18^th year as Valpo Director of Strength & Conditioning at Valpo and returned to oversight of men’s basketball strength & conditioning in 2020-21. He has worked with Valpo teams since 1994.
• Athletic trainer Ken DeAngelis is in his third season full-time at Valpo after previously earning his master’s degree from the University in 2012 while spending two years as a graduate assistant athletic trainer.

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 11 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 NBA players in the last four years. 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-present).
• Valpo has produced over 50 professional players in the last 25 years.