Men’s Basketball Falls to Southern Indiana
The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team saw a three-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday afternoon with a 64-56 setback to visiting Southern Indiana in a Pre-Thanksgiving matchup at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Freshman JT Pettigrew (Lisle, Ill. / Bolingbrook) enjoyed a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Beacons.
How It Happened
- Southern Indiana took a slight lead at 5-4 after a made 3 with 16:38 on the first-half clock, and held an advantage that fluctuated between one and five until Isaiah Barnes (Chicago, Ill. / Simeon Career Academy [Tulsa/Michigan]) hit a 3 at the 6:01 mark to put the Beacons in front 21-19.
- Valpo led 23-22 with 5:33 remaining in the first half, but USI went on a key 10-0 run to take a 34-25 lead with 3:06 to go in the half. A second-chance triple by Owen Dease (Evansville, Ind. / Evansville Reitz [Texas A&M Corpus Christi]) slimmed the lead to six with the guests ahead 36-30 at the break.
- The Screaming Eagles scored the first eight points of the second half, building the edge to 14 at 44-30. A trey by Brody Whitaker (Greencastle, Ind. / Greencastle [University of Indianapolis / Marian]) at the 10:54 mark slimmed the gap to nine, and Valpo eventually got as close as six after a Dease layup made it 54-48 with 3:57 remaining.
- After Valpo had cut it to six, USI scored the next six points to double the lead to 12, and a late 3 by Mark Brown Jr. (South Phoenix, Ariz. / Bella Vista Prep [Snow College]) prevented a double-figure margin.
Inside the Game
- Pettigrew scored in double figures for the third time this season and notched his first double-double. The 11 rebounds marked a personal best.
- Whitaker finished with 10 points, eclipsing his previous season best of nine set vs. Nicholls. He had a plus-minus of +6 in 21 minutes in an eight-point loss. Sader Servilus (Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Fort Erie International Academy) was a team-best +8 in seven minutes, while Tucker Tornatta (Evansville, Ind. / Reitz Memorial [University of Indianapolis]) was a +7.
- Dease tallied nine points, his third straight game with nine or more.
- Junior Shon Tupuola (Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg [Saint Mary-of-the-Woods]) grabbed seven boards, his fifth straight game with seven or more.
- As a team, Valpo rejected 10 shots including two apiece by Tupuola and Pettigrew. This marked Valpo’s first double-figure, single-game blocked shot total since 10 on March 15, 2016 vs. Texas Southern.
- This was the first game nationally where both teams were credited with at least nine blocked shots since Jan. 11, 2025, Texas A&M vs. Alabama.
- The Beacons shot just 4-of-26 from 3, 15.4 percent. This marked the team’s coldest 3-point shooting performance since the 2024-25 season opener vs. Liberty (13.3 percent).
- Valpo has held the opponent to 64 points or fewer in all four home games this season.
- The Beacons limited the turnovers to nine, the team’s fourth straight game with single-digit turnovers.
- This snapped a three-game winning streak and represented Valpo’s first home loss of the season.
Up Next
Valpo (4-2) will host Basketball for All – Special Olympics Day at the Athletics-Recreation Center as Western Michigan comes to town for a 2 p.m. tipoff on Saturday. For ticket information, visit tickets.valpoathletics.com.