Valpo Overcomes Adversity in Convincing Road Win Over Cleveland State
You name an obstacle, and the Valparaiso University men’s basketball team faced it on Wednesday night in Cleveland, Ohio.
Three of the team’s top eight scorers stayed back in Northwest Indiana due to illness. Four more players battled foul trouble throughout the game and had four apiece in the middle of the second half. Despite all that, and playing on the road against a team that KenPom projected to defeat Valpo even at full strength, the Beacons came home with a convincing 90-75 win over Cleveland State that conjured up memories of Valpo success against the Vikings when the two teams shared Horizon League affiliation.
A breakthrough game by Justus McNair (Joliet, Ill. / Joliet West) played a key role, as he finished with 21 points, joining Shon Tupuola (Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg [Saint Mary-of-the-Woods]) and Rakim Chaney (Rockford, Ill. / Rockford Auburn [212 Academy]) with 20+ points as Tupuola also tallied 21 and Chaney led the way with 23.
How It Happened
• Valpo got off to a red-hot start, holding a double-figure lead at 16-5 at the first media timeout of the first half. Chaney scored the team’s first five points of the game, and Carter Hopoi (Tauranga, New Zealand [Mount Maunganui College NZ]) splashed in his first 3 of the season as part of the early burst.
• Valpo stretched its early lead all the way to 15 at 20-5 when McNair dialed one in from distance, but Cleveland State inched back into the game by scoring the next five points to make it 20-10.
• Foul trouble plagued the Beacons as four players had two fouls prior to the break including a big stretch without the services of JT Pettigrew due to foul trouble. McNair stepped up, pouring in 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting while swiping two steals in the first half. Tupuola was a key factor as well, recording 11 points and three blocks before the break, helping Valpo out to a 39-27 lead through 20 minutes.
• After Cleveland State whittled the lead to nine with a 3-point play early in the second half, a big Beacon burst that saw them outscore the Vikings 13-3 pushed the lead to 52-33, the team’s largest of the game, all in the first four minutes of the half.
• Valpo got the lead up to 20 at 59-39 with 13:57 left in the second half, but the Vikings cut into the lead by making it 61-47 by the under-12 media timeout.
• Cleveland State continued to make a push, as Valpo had four players with four fouls apiece. An already thin bench due to injury and illness was tested. Sader Servilus (Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Fort Erie International Academy) stepped up and made a big basket off the bench and then got to the rim and got fouled, providing a needed lift. His free throw made it 71-57 with just under eight minutes left.
• The Beacons continued to survive every obstacle thrown at them down the stretch, with a variety of players making contributions to closing out the victory.
• A triple by Mark Brown Jr. (South Phoenix, Ariz. / Bella Vista Prep [Snow College]) with 2:19 left lifted the lead to 19 and sealed the deal.
Inside the Game
• This was the first time in at least two decades that Valpo had three 20-point scorers in a regulation game. Last year’s Indiana State overtime game did feature a trio of 20-point scorers.
• Valpo stretched its winning streak to three and holds a 4-1 record through five games for the first time since 2019-20.
• The 15-point margin of victory marked the team’s most lopsided road triumph since a 20-point victory at Illinois State on Jan. 21, 2023.
• The 90 points were Valpo’s most on the road since Nov. 15, 2017, a 94-69 victory at SIUE.
• Chaney had his fifth straight game in double figures, his fourth straight with at least 15 and was one point shy of his career high set against Nicholls last week. He also dished out a personal-best seven assists.
• Chaney became the first Valpo player with a 23-point, seven-assist game since Ron Howard had 25 and seven on Jan. 27, 2005 at Southern Utah.
• Chaney became the second freshman in the country with a 23-point, seven-assist game this season (NJIT’s David Bolden).
• McNair outdid his previous scoring career high of 19 (Jan. 14, 2025 at Belmont) and his previous rebounding career high of five (Jan. 11, 2025 at Murray State) with his 21-point, six-rebound performance.
• Tupuola enjoyed a 21-point performance on 8-of-10 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds. His 21-point output marked his Valpo peak. He also had a season-best three blocks.
• Hopoi squeezed a team-high seven rebounds.
• The Beacons blocked seven shots as a team, the team’s most since Jan. 11, 2025 at Murray State, also seven.
• Valpo held a 39-23 rebounding average and a 13-5 edge on the offensive glass.
Up Next
Valpo (4-1) will have nearly a week off from game action before hosting Southern Indiana in a pre-Thanksgiving showdown on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center. It’s Jersey Day with fans encouraged to wear their best jersey. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.valpoathletics.com.
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