Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Ryan Broekhoff registered a double-double of 21
points and 10 rebounds to lift the Valparaiso Crusaders to a 75-70 decision
over the Illinois-Chicago Flames in a Horizon League tussle at UIC Pavilion.
LaVonte Dority added 18 points and four assists for Valpo (12-5, 2-1 Horizon)
as it picked up its second straight win. Kevin Van Wijk went 4-of-5 from the
field and a perfect 8-of-8 at the charity stripe to contribute 16 points
before fouling out after 23 minutes of action.
Gary Talton paced UIC (10-5, 1-1) with 25 points after he hit six of his eight
field goal attempts and drained all 11 of his free throw tries. Josh Crittle
provided 16 points and seven boards while Hayden Humes netted 12 points for
the Flames, who suffered their first conference loss of the season.
UIC scored the first five points of the contest to take an initial lead, but
the Crusaders responded with 12 unanswered points to go on top in the early
stages of the bout. The Flames overcame a seven-point deficit and Van Wijk
sank a layup with just under a minute left before halftime to tie it up, but
Broekhoff drilled a shot from beyond the arc to send Valpo into the
intermission with a 33-30 advantage on the scoreboard. UIC managed to tally 11
second chance points in the opening 20 minutes to keep it close.
The Flames began the second stanza with some momentum and jumped out to a
46-37 lead less than five minutes after the break. Valpo rallied back with
nine consecutive points to even the score, and neither side could build too
great of an edge the rest of the way. Crittle converted a traditional three-
point play with 2:34 remaining to tie it up for the 13th time, but the
Crusaders generated a 6-0 run to go on top for good.
Valpo held a 31-26 advantage in the rebounding battle to overcome its 15
turnovers. The Flames were unable to pick up the victory despite draining all
18 of their free throw attempts.
GAME NOTES:
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