The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team led for 42 minutes, 30 seconds on Saturday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center. But when the final horn sounded after 50 minutes of play, Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorite Drake prevailed 85-82 in double overtime in front of an electric atmosphere and large student section. Valpo was led in scoring by Ben Krikke (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada / Jasper]), who poured in 27 points before fouling out with 1:59 remaining in the first overtime.

How It Happened

• Krikke drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the game, helping Valpo race out to an 8-2 lead.
• Valpo held the lead throughout the first half, and built the edge to seven when Connor Barrett (Chicago, Ill. / Loyola Academy) hit a trey at the 10:44 mark to make it 23-16. Kobe King (La Crosse, Wis. / La Crosse Central) later expanded the gap to nine with a 3 of his own.
• Drake rallied to within two late in the half and Valpo eventually carried a 35-31 edge into the locker room.
• The lead fluctuated between one and five early in the second half before a 6-0 spurt helped Valpo to a 47-39 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining. The lead reached double figures when a steal by Darius DeAveiro (Kanata, Ottawa, Canada / Orangeville Prep) led to a fastbreak dunk by Krikke to make it 49-39 with 11:45 on the clock.
• The lead again ballooned to 10 when Maximus Nelson (Appleton, Wis. / Appleton North) buried a 3 with 11:08 remaining, and it was still double figures with under nine minutes to go.
• Drake went on an 8-1 spurt, but Quinton Green (Columbus, Ohio / Homeschool [Cedarville]) doubled the lead back to six with 6:50. Drake’s Tucker DeVries hit a 3, then Nelson responded with a long ball of his own.
• Valpo continued to own a slight lead until DeVries was fouled shooting a 3 with 25 ticks on the clock and made all three free throws to level the score at 66. That was the game’s first tie since 0-0 as Valpo led from the 19:43 mark of the first half to the 25 second mark of the second half. The game went to overtime at 66 all.
• Nelson hit a 3 early in the first overtime, but Drake eventually took its first lead with 58 seconds to go in OT on a second-chance basket that turned into a traditional 3-point play.
• King had a second-chance hoop of his own to tie the game, then both teams had empty possessions late in OT to force a second extra session.
• Nelson hit a key 3 to put Valpo on top early in double OT as well. But Drake fought right back with a traditional 3-point play. Green became the second Valpo player to foul out with 4:08 to go in double OT. DeVries hit a big 3 that broke a 78-all tie with 2:56 on the clock, and Drake led the rest of the way.

Inside the Game

• Krikke accrued 27 points including a career-high 11 made free throws. He became the first Valpo player with 11 made free throws in a game since Bakari Evelyn on Nov. 25, 2017 vs. UNC Wilmington.
• Nelson had the biggest day of his young Beacon career, racking up a career-high 18 points, outdoing his previous best of 10 that came on Jan. 4 vs. UNI. Nelson drilled six triples in nine attempts.
• Nelson also shared the team lead in the rebounding department as he, Green and Ibra Bayu (Flevoland, The Netherlands) gobbled up six boards apiece.
• Edwards handed out seven assists, while DeAveiro dished out six helpers. DeAveiro also swiped four steals.
• The two teams had the exact same shooting percentage as both went 25-of-65 (38.5 percent). Valpo had a season-high 12 made 3s while also going 20-of-22 (90.9 percent) at the free-throw line.
• Valpo has played overtime in back-to-back games. The Beacons slip to 1-3 in OT games and 0-3 in overtime games in league play this year. The double overtime was Valpo’s first since Feb. 5 of last season, a 79-72 win over Indiana State. Drake played even more basketball than Valpo this week as the Bulldogs also won in double overtime on Wednesday vs. UNI.
• King was the third Valpo player in double figures with 13 points and has been in double figures in all 25 games this season.
• Krikke moved up two more spots on Valpo’s all-time scoring list and now sits in 12^th with 1,422 after passing John Wolfenberg (1970-73) and Jim Ford (1985-89).
• The attendance was a season-high 3,137.

Postgame Press Conference

Click here for postgame press conference.

Up Next

Valpo (10-15, 4-10 MVC) will attempt to bounce back on Wednesday night with a game at Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind. The game will begin at 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET.