Stafford Leads Valpo to Exhibition Win
The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team took the court in a game environment for a final tune-up prior to the regular season on Wednesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center, pulling away late for an 82-71 victory over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Isaiah Stafford (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Crispus Attucks) paced the team with 26 points, leading a group of four Beacons in double figures.
How It Happened
- Freshman Cooper Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest [Link Year]) drilled an early 3 at the 16:08 mark of the first half to give the hosts their first lead of the game at 9-7. Valpo went back in front on a Stafford triple with 13:55 on the first-half clock.
- Valpo faced a seven-point deficit at the midway mark of the first half, but a 12-0 run for the hosts turned a 27-20 deficit into a 32-27 lead. Stafford accounted for seven of the 12 points on the run.
- A fastbreak dunk by Jaxon Edwards (Indianapolis, Ind. / Cathedral [Murray State]) on a Stafford assist stretched the lead to seven at 40-33 with 1:50 left in the first half, but Saint Mary-of-the-Woods closed to within two by the halftime horn. The Beacons led 42-40 at the break behind 14 first-half points from Stafford.
- Valpo led by seven with 14:20 remaining, but the Pomeroys battled back to take a 53-52 lead with 11:55 left. Edwards had back-to-back buckets to put Valpo back in front, but it was a seesaw battle until the Brown & Gold grabbed the lead for good on a Schwieger putback with 8:02 on the clock that turned into a traditional 3-point play to make it 61-59.
- The Beacons used a 6-0 run including four more points from Schwieger to bolster the lead to 10 at 71-61 with 4:13 to play.
- A fastbreak dunk by Jerome Palm (Almere, The Netherlands / Echnaton [Hillsborough CC]) with 2:31 on the clock provided an exclamation mark on the victory.
Inside the Game
- Stafford was joined in double figures by Schwieger and Sherman Weatherspoon IV (Bowie, Md. / Bethesda-Chevy Chase [Golden State Prep]), who tallied 13 points apiece. The fourth double-figure scorer was Edwards with a dozen.
- Junior Darius DeAveiro (Kanata, Ottawa, Canada / Orangeville Prep) dished out eight assists with no turnovers, while Stafford added five helpers to his 26-point performance.
- The team’s top two performers in the plus-minus category were Stafford and Schwieger. Valpo outscored the opponent by 20 when Stafford was on the court and the team went +18 with Schwieger in action.
- Edwards paced the team with eight rebounds including five offensive caroms.
- The team grabbed 16 offensive rebounds leading to 23 second-chance points.
- Valpo held a 42-24 advantage in the paint.
- Schwieger started his first collegiate contest, one of nine players who made their unofficial (exhibition) Valpo debuts on Wednesday.
- Valpo dished out 17 assists against just nine turnovers.