Valpo Rallies, but Belmont Rebounds to Fend Off Beacons on Tuesday in Nashville
The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team overcame a 16-point first-half deficit to take the lead in the second half, but host Belmont rebounded to finish strong in a 71-64 victory over the Beacons on Tuesday night at the Curb Event Center in Nashville.
How It Happened
- Belmont got off to a strong start, jumping out to a 15-4 lead in the first five minutes. Tyler Lundblade hit three early 3s for the Bruins.
- The Beacons went to the bench and got an early lift from freshman Justus McNair, who nailed three early 3s and had four in the first half, tallying 14 points prior to the break.
- The bulge reached 12 before Valpo chipped it back down to six when freshman All Wright had a traditional 3-point play with 7:47 left in the opening half that made it 27-21.
- The Bruins put together another burst to expand the lead to 16 with under five minutes remaining before halftime.
- McNair scored the final five points of the half including his fourth 3 with 1:32 on the clock. Neither team could find the well down the final stretch of the half, as Valpo played well defensively by holding the Bruins scoreless for the final 3:45, but the halftime gap stood at 10 at 40-30.
- Valpo assembled an 11-3 burst to start the second half, closing to within two at 43-41 at the under-16 media timeout. Valpo got to the basket for good looks, while Belmont missed six of its first seven shots of the half. Isaiah Shaw hit a 15-footer at 14:30 to tie the game at 43, the first tie since the game’s early stages.
- Belmont responded to regain the advantage, and then Darius DeAveiro and Aidan Noyes traded big 3s. Shaw provided a Valpo lift during that stretch.
- Schwieger had several big buckets, including a go-ahead shot to give Valpo a 53-52 advantage with just over nine minutes remaining, the first lead of the game for the guests.
- Belmont battled right back as Brigham Rogers scored the next four points to put his team ahead 56-53 with eight minutes to play. A second-chance triple by McNair tied the game at 56, then Shaw scored on the fastbreak to give Valpo the lead again at 58-56.
- A 7-0 run by Belmont put the Bruins in front 63-58 with 5:26 to play. Wright hit a 3 to cut it to two, but Valpo went cold down the stretch, as Wright had the team’s only two made field goals in the final 5:14 and the Bruins iced the game at the free-throw line.
Inside the Game
- McNair had two made 3s in the first six conference games of his rookie campaign. He had four in the first half alone and finished with five on Tuesday. After entering the game with 18 total points in his first six conference games, McNair tallied a season-high 19 on Tuesday.
- McNair became the first Valpo player to hit five 3s in a game since Isaiah Stafford on Jan. 17, 2024 at Evansville.
- Shaw finished with 12 points and six rebounds, his highest scoring output since 15 on Dec. 5 vs. Drake and his season-high on the glass. Shaw tied his career high of six boards set on Nov. 26, 2022 vs. Benedictine Mesa while playing for GCU.
- Schwieger had a double-double of 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. He eclipsed his previous personal best of 14 rebounds on Nov. 8 of this season vs. Concordia Ann Arbor. Schwieger’s double-double was his fourth of the season and first in league play.
- Wright was the fourth Beacon in double figures with 10 points, his 10th time in double figures this year.
- Valpo was outshot 30-9 and outscored 21-7 at the free-throw line, the second straight game on this road trip that Valpo faced a major free-throw disparity.
- The Beacons shot at a higher field-goal percentage than the opponent on both games of this road trip, outshooting Belmont 36.4 percent to 36.1 percent. Valpo also shot at a higher clip from 3 on Tuesday, shooting 31 percent to the host’s 20 percent.
- Turnovers hurt the Beacons in this one, as the Bruins owned a 17-12 edge in the turnover battle.
- Valpo had a 47-40 advantage on the glass and a 14-11 edge on the offensive boards.
Up Next
Valpo (10-8, 3-4 MVC) will return home to host UIC on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center.