Valpraiso Beats Green Bay, Headed To NCAA Tournament

It didn’t look good early for the Valporaiso Crusaders as they took on the UW-Green Bay Phoenix to decide the winner of the Horizon League Championship. Being down 39-31 with just over 11 minutes left in the second half, the Crusaders rallied to defeat Green Bay 54-44 to earn an automatic bid to this year’s Men’s NCAA basketball tournament.

Alec Peters, who was named the Horizon League tournament MVP, had an off night for Valpraiso, shooting just 3 of 13 from the floor and going a measly 1 for 8 at the free throw line. Despite his struggles, Peters knew tough defense was what was ultimately going to be their best bet at a win.

“It’s been quite a ride this season,” said Peters. “Being conference champs, tournament champs and now going to the NCAA tournament, we just had to bear down, play some defense and get some stops because we wanted this more than anything.”

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Keifer Sykes, the two-time Horizon League player of the year gave the Crusaders all they could handle. After averaging 29 points over the last three games for the Phoenix, Sykes had an off night managing just 5 of 15 shooting, ending the game with 14 points.

“They were doing a good job of taking some things away,” said Sykes. “I knew especially when I gave the ball up, it was hard to get it back. And then by the time we’d get it back, we weren’t in a position to get a good shot or get a good score. They’re a good defensive team.”

Heading into the second half, Green Bay led Valparaiso 25-19, but the Crusaders went on a 15-0 run in the last 12 minutes of the second half that would give the Crusaders their first lead since the beginning of the game. After leading for the majority of the contest, Green Bay went cold and was never able to recover the lead.

The win gives Valpraiso their second trip to the NCAA tournament in head coach Bryce Drew’s first four seasons with the team.