Valpo Downs CCSJ in Nonconference Finale
The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team polished off a 7-4 nonconference record by closing out nonleague play with a 107-57 rout of Calumet College of St. Joseph on Sunday afternoon at the Athletics-Recreation Center. The Beacons went into the Christmas holiday on a high note by securing their second straight victory, equaling their season win total of seven from a year ago and finishing with the team’s best regular-season nonconference winning percentage since 2017-18.
How It Happened
- Five early points by sophomore Cooper Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest) helped Valpo jump out to an 8-2 lead in the first three minutes.
- After the Crimson Wave were within three at 10-7 with 16 minutes on the clock, Valpo scored 11 straight points. When Devon Ellis (Schaumburg, Ill. / Conant) scored on a driving layup with 12:28 to go in the half, the Beacons boosted the lead to 21-7.
- CCSJ cut the margin to seven, but when Kaspar Sepp (Tartu, Estonia / Fairmont Academy) threw down a dunk at the 8:36 mark, Valpo opened up a double-figure lead that would stand for the duration of the contest.
- The Sepp slam spurred a 10-0 run that bolstered the gap to 18 on a turnaround jumper by Tyler Schmidt (Valparaiso, Ind. / Victory Christian Academy) with 6:35 to go in the half. The lead stayed 18 going into the intermission as Valpo held a 47-29 advantage with a 3 by All Wright (Durango, Mexico / Link Year) representing the last bucket of the half.
- After shooting 52.9 percent in the opening half, the Beacons did even better after the break, hitting at a robust 67.9 percent over the final 20 minutes including 9-of-15 (60 percent) from 3.
- Valpo had a 13-0 run that lifted the lead all the way to 36 at 74-38 with under 12 minutes remaining, and it was cruise control the rest of the way.
Inside the Game
- Wright finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 assists, his first collegiate double-double and according to Wright, his first double-double at any level. He became the first Valpo player since Darius DeAveiro on Feb. 14, 2024 vs. UNI (11 points, 10 assists) to record a points-assists double-double.
- Wright was just the sixth Valpo player to achieve a points-assists double-double in the last 20 years, joining DeAveiro, Nick Edwards (12/21/22 vs. Stonehill), Urule Igbavboa (2/5/07 at Chicago State), Ron Howard (1/24/05 vs. Oakland) and Seth Colclasure (1/10/05 at Oakland).
- Wright became the fifth freshman nationally with a points-assists double-double this season, joining Boogie Fland (Arkansas), Robert Wright III (Baylor), Kasparas Jakucionis (Illinois) and Egor Demin (BYU).
- Schwieger had a double-double of his own with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds. The 13 rebounds were one shy of a season high set on Nov. 8 vs. Concordia Ann Arbor and his point total was also one away from a season high, set on Nov. 21 vs. Lindenwood.
- This marked Schwieger’s second 20-point game and third double-double this season. He went 3-for-3 from 3 and 4-for-4 at the line. He’s a perfect 12-for-12 at the charity stripe over the last three contests and has scored at least 16 points in each of those games.
- Schwieger, who also had three blocks, secured his double-double with 7:27 remaining in the first half, needing just 12:33 of total game time to clinch the double-double. This marked Valpo’s first first-half double-double since Alec Peters on Jan. 12, 2017 at Youngstown State.
- This marked the second time this season and just the eighth time in the last quarter of a century that Valpo enjoyed a 50-point margin of victory.
- Five Beacons scored in double figures. Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (LaSalle, Quebec, Canada / Orangeville Prep) chipped in 14 and drained three 3s. He has scored at least nine points in all 12 games this season including four straight with 13 or more.
- Schmidt tallied 10 points, while Ellis scored 16 on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting. He had his highest scoring output of the last nine games.
- Sepp gobbled up 10 rebounds, his third double-figure performance on the glass this year.
- Valpo hit a season-high 16 3s, the team’s highest total since making 18 on Feb. 22, 2020. Prior to that, Valpo hadn’t produced 16 made 3s in a game since Dec. 15, 2007 vs. Chicago State.
- The season of giving was on full display in the final game prior to Christmas, as Valpo handed out 24 assists, the squad’s second-highest total this year behind 28 vs. Concordia Ann Arbor.
- Senior Darius DeAveiro (Kanata, Ottawa, Canada / Orangeville Prep) had five points, five rebounds and five assists, moving his career assists total to 327, three shy of cracking the program’s all-time top 10.
- The Beacons held a 51-17 rebounding advantage and outscored the Crimson Wave 14-2 on second-chance points. The +34 on the boards was Valpo’s second time this season at +30 or better (+36 vs. Concordia Ann Arbor). Prior to this season, Valpo had not owned a rebounding edge of 30 or more since Nov. 21, 2017 vs. Samford.
- The 107 points on Sunday marked Valpo’s third-highest total in the last decade behind this season vs. Concordia Ann Arbor (111) and November 2018 vs. Concordia Chicago (121).
- Valpo’s regular season record of 7-4 (.636) marked the team’s highest nonconference regular-season winning percentage since 2017-19 (9-4, .692).
Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
Up Next
After a few days off for the Christmas holiday, the Beacons (7-5) will visit Bradley to open the continuous portion of Missouri Valley Conference play on Sunday, Dec. 29.