The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team fell 88-66 to Bradley on Saturday afternoon at Carver Arena in Peoria. Four Beacons scored in double figures, led by Ben Krikke (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada / Jasper Place) with 17 points and seven rebounds.

How It Happened

• Bradley jumped out to an early 10-2 lead by the 15:51 mark of the first half.
• A basket by Kobe King (La Crosse, Wis. / La Crosse Central [Wisconsin]) with 10:35 to go in the first half cut the hosts’ lead to eight at 23-15, but Bradley responded with an 11-0 run to expand the gap to 19 at the 7:53 mark.
• The Braves went on another 11-0 run to boost the lead to 28 with 4:01 to go in the half.
• Bradley led by 25 at halftime. The Beacons outscored the Braves 42-39 after the break, but the hosts coasted to the win.

Inside the Game

• Krikke had a big first half, tallying 13 points and five rebounds in the opening 20 minutes while knocking down five of his seven field-goal attempts. He finished with a team-high 17 points. The Edmonton native reached double figures for the 15^th time in 17 games this year.
• King hit double figures for the 17^th straight game, sustaining his streak as the only player in the conference to score in double figures in each outing. He scored eight of his 12 points after halftime.
• King has an opportunity to reach the 1,000-career point milestone on Tuesday vs. Belmont. He enters that game 11 points shy of the watermark.
• Junior Connor Barrett (Chicago, Ill. / Loyola Academy) went 3-for-3 from the field for 10 points, doing all of his damage after halftime. This marked his second double-figure output of the year after he had 13 on Dec. 18 vs. Elon.
• Sixth-year senior Quinton Green (Columbus, Ohio / Homeschool [Cedarville]) turned in 12 points to make it four Valpo players in double figures. Bradley had five players score in double figures, the first time five or more opposing players have scored 10+ points since Dec. 10 at Ole Miss.
• Redshirt senior Joe Hedstrom (Hopkins, Minn. / Hopkins [Wisconsin]) scored six points and went 4-of-4 at the free-throw line.
• Valpo handed out 14 assists on 21 made baskets.
• Valpo made 18 free throws, its third highest total of the season behind Trinity Christian (19) and Incarnate Word (20).
• The Beacons attempted a season-high 26 free throws. This was the team’s most free throw tries in a game since Feb. 12 of last season at Missouri State (27).

Up Next

Valpo (6-11, 0-6 MVC) will return home to play Belmont on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.