Beacons Make Second-Half Surge, SIU Holds On
The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team outscored visiting Southern Illinois 44-33 in the second half, but the Salukis held on for a 77-68 victory after owning a 20-point halftime advantage at the Athletics-Recreation Center on Wednesday. The Beacons were led by 19 points from Isaiah Stafford (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Crispus Attucks [John A. Logan / Southern Indiana]) and 18 from Darius DeAveiro (Kanata, Ontario, Canada / Orangeville Prep).
How It Happened
• Southern Illinois sprinted ahead by scoring the game’s first five points and held the lead in the early going. DeAveiro turned a traditional 3-point play to cut the lead to three at 10-7 at the 16:04 mark. The lead fluctuated between four and seven until Sherman Weatherspoon IV (Bowie, Md. / Bethesda-Chevy Chase [Golden State Prep]) cut it back to three with a triple at the 10:51 mark.
• SIU went on a 9-0 run to turn a 23-19 edge into a 13-point gap at 32-19 with 6:46 left in the half. Another run for the Salukis – this time an eight-point burst – expanded the lead to 19 at 40-21 with 4:45 left on the first-half clock. By halftime it was a 20-point gap at 44-24.
• After SIU hit a 3-pointer to start the second-half scoring, Valpo rattled off eight straight points to cut the lead to 15. A 7-0 run late in the half that started with a triple by DeAveiro reduced the margin to single figures at 62-53 with 5:46 left in the half.
• Valpo continued to battle for the remainder of the game and eventually cut it back down to nine as Ola Ajiboye (Chicago, Ill. / Evanston Township [Central Michigan / Bosco Institute]) had a tip-in dunk with 0.3 on the clock to make it 77-68 and account for the game’s final score.
Inside the Game
• Stafford scored 19 points for the second straight game. This marked his seventh game this season with 19 points or more.
• DeAveiro was one point shy of a career-high with his 18 points. He tallied double figures for the fourth straight game after having two double-figure performances in his first 12 contests this season. The junior dished out five assists, surpassing 200 for his collegiate career. He has four assists or more in 12 straight games.
• Freshman Cooper Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest [Link Year]) scored nine points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, his second straight game with seven or more caroms.
• Weatherspoon scored eight points on 3-of-6 shooting while playing 25 minutes, tying a season high in minutes played set back on Nov. 25 vs. Southern.
• In the first half, Valpo shot just 36 percent while SIU hit at a 61 percent clip, but the shooting numbers flipped in the second half with Valpo knocking down 63 percent of its shots and SIU being held to just 39 percent.
• SIU’s Xavier Johnson, the nation’s second leading scorer, had 22 points including 10-of-10 at the foul line.
Up Next
The Beacons (4-12, 0-5 MVC) will hit the road for the next two contests, starting with a 2 p.m. tip time on Sunday at Illinois State. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.