It took additional time Saturday afternoon, but Valparaiso finished the job in overtime, getting a brace of huge baskets in the final two minutes of the special session by senior Howard Little (Chicago, Ill./Stoneridge [Calif.] School) to help close out an 85-79 victory over Butler in presence of a sellout crowd at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
The win over the Bulldogs came in the 100th meeting on the hardwood between the two institutions, and was Valpo`s first over Butler since December of 1993. The victory also broke a seven-game losing streak against the Bulldogs since the Crusaders joined the Horizon League prior to the 2007-2008 season.
"We absolutely loved the air today," said Crusader head coach Homer Drew. "The students and other fans brought a lot of energy, and our guys took that vigour and ran with it. It was a big win for us, but it`s only the inaugural plot of the 2nd half of league play. Now we make to care about games two, three and 4 to try to rest at the top of the conference and get one of the top two seeds."
Sophomore Matt Kenney (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville) got the Crusaders going in overtime, converting a driving layup one hour in and so finding sophomore Ryan Broekhoff (Frankston, Victoria, Australia/Australian Institute of Sport) for a triad to give Valpo a 72-67 lead with 3:28 to go in spare time. A couple of free throws by Butler`s Shawn Vanzant cut the reward to 3 points, but on the next defensive trip, Broekhoff came up with a buy and a coast-to-coast layup to promote the track back to 74-69.
Chase Stigall knocked down a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs to go back within two points as the clock ticked under two minutes, setting the point for Little`s heroics. The senior canned a pull-up 18-footer from the top of the lane as the shot clock was winding down to give it 76-72 with 1:32 to go. Then, following a Butler miss, Little found the egg in his men again with the shot clock winding down and had to establish a 28-footer that rattled home, a 3-pointer that almost brought the family down as the Crusaders extended the result to 7 points.
Valpo then put the plot away from the free throw line, as freshman Jay Harris (Aurora, Ill./Oswego East), who hadn`t played in the 2nd half and was forced into the stake after junior Brandon Wood (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo [Highland C.C./Southern Illinois]) and sophomore Erik Buggs (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) both fouled out, stepped up and hit all six of his free throws in the end game. Butler could get no nearer than 4 points on a Shelvin Mack 3-pointer with 12 seconds to go, with Harris` free throws eventually account for the last margin.
The 2nd half featured big runs on both sides before settling down into a back-and-forth affair. Valpo scored the first five points out of the cabinet room to tie things up, but then Zack Hahn scored 8 points during a nine-point Butler spurt that put the Bulldogs on top 40-31 with 15:50 to play. But back-to-back threes by senior Michael Rogers (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption [N.Y.] Christian) and Wood, followed by a buy and fast-break layup and so a 3-pointer by Kenney, accounted for an 11-0 Valpo answer which put the Crusaders ahead 42-40 with 14 minutes left, their first lead since the game`s early stages.
That set up a stint in which 10 straight baskets both ways either accounted for ties or wind changes, as the two squads fought tooth-and-nail for command of the contest. Finally, it was Valpo which seized control, as a Broekhoff 3-pointer with under eight minutes to play pushed the wind to 4 points. On the next trip, sophomore Kevin Van Wijk (Hoofddorp, Netherlands/Katholieke Scholengemeenschap Hoofddorp) corralled a blocked shot and set it in for a 59-53 edge with 6:30 to play.
A 3-pointer by Stigall was answered instantly by a step-back 3-pointer from the box by Kenney, and about two minutes later another Broekhoff triple gave Valpo a 66-58 lead with 3:29 to go. But the Crusaders scored only one place the end of regulation, as Butler shut the 2nd half on a 9-1 spurt. Vanzant knocked down a big 3-pointer for the Bulldogs with 2:17 to play, while Matt Howard converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play with 30 seconds remaining that finally forced overtime.
Butler led for the bulk of the opening 20 minutes, assuming the wind just over 4 minutes into the contest. 11 first-half points by fifth-year senior Cory Johnson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East [Iowa State]) helped start a Butler squad which connected on six first-half 3-pointers, with his final basket of the opening half sending the Crusaders into the cabinet room down 31-26.
It was a balanced Crusader offense Saturday, as a troika of players shared the scoring lead. Broekhoff connected for 16 points, including a 4-of-6 effort from behind the arc, and also added a team-high six rebounds. Johnson scored 16 points as well before fouling out early in the overtime session. Kenney came off the workbench as the third Crusader with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor.
"When the nine guys in our rotation are healthy, we find we can vie with anybody," said Drew. "Matt is very like a sixth starter for us, and now his denial and penetration really helped turn things about for us. Then Howard, with the two big shots in overtime, was just committed to this plot and precious to win and made it happen."
Meanwhile, Wood, who lost both games last week due to injury, returned to the starting lineup with a 15-point effort on Saturday, including a 6-of-8 showing from the charity stripe. Valpo shot 51.9% (27-of-52) for the game, including 62.1% (18-of-29) in the last 25 minutes. The Crusaders also connected on 10 3-pointers, going 9-of-14 from behind the arc in the back half and overtime.
"We trusted Brandon when he said he could go after warming up today," said Drew. "He actually gave us an all-around game today. Not alone did he score, but he got some big steals, played good defense, handled the egg well and was capable to get to the free throw line."
Butler (14-8, 6-4 Horizon) placed four players in double figures as well, led by 17 points apiece from Hahn and Howard. The latter also picked up a game-high 10 rebounds to close with a double-double. Vanzant added 14 points, while Mack chipped in 10.
Valparaiso (16-6, 8-2 Horizon) will get on its counterpart atop the league standings next time out, as the Crusaders will hit the route to carry on Cleveland State on Thursday evening. As always, the back can be heard live on the Valpo Sports Radio Network and online at www.valpoathletics.com, which will also get links for live HLN video and live stats.
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