VU Men’s Basketball Pulls Away in Second Half to Storm Past Bryant
The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team faced an eight-point halftime deficit, but an overwhelming second half that saw the Beacons outscore visiting Bryant 46-20 led to a 68-50 win over an NCAA Tournament team from last season. The Bulldogs are the tallest team in the country according to KenPom’s height factor, but Valpo was not deterred as freshman Rakim Chaney (Rockford, Ill. / Rockford Auburn [212° Sports Academy]) led four Beacons in double figures with 18 points, while Shon Tupuola (Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg [Saint Mary-of-the-Woods]) enjoyed a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards.
How It Happened
- Valpo tallied the game’s first five points including an early 3 by Chaney. The Beacons eventually climbed out to a 12-2 advantage when Tupuola notched a tip-in dunk at the 10:47 mark of the first half.
- After being held to two points for 9:44, Bryant finally started scoring and tallied eight of the game’s next nine points to shrink the gap to three.
- The Valpo lead got back to six at 19-13, but the Bulldogs reeled off the next six points to level the score.
- An 8-0 run built up a 27-21 lead for Bryant, and the guests went into halftime in front 30-22. Valpo shot just 27 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3 and 38.5 percent from the free-throw line in the opening half.
- Over the first nine minutes of the second half, Valpo outscored Bryant 19-4, quickly turning an eight-point deficit into a seven-point advantage thanks in part to Tupuola doing work inside.
- A jumper by Chaney with 8:12 left created Valpo’s first double-figure lead, and the Beacons pushed the bulge to 15 when JT Pettigrew (Lisle, Ill. / Bolingbrook) tossed in a 3 with 5:53 on the clock. The cushion continued to grow from there.
Inside the Game
- The 18-point margin of victory was Valpo’s largest against a Division-I opponent since beating Eastern Illinois by 28 on Nov. 24, 2024.
- At 3-1, Valpo is off to its best four-game start to a season since 2019-20.
- The Beacons are 3-0 at home for the first time since 2020-21.
- Tupuola’s scoring and rebounding numbers marked personal peaks in a Valpo uniform. Total in his collegiate career, this marked his 37th double-figure scoring output and 40th double-figure rebounding game. He has scored in double-figures in back-to-back contests and squeezed seven boards or more in three straight.
- Chaney has scored at least a dozen points in each of his four games this season including 18 or more in back-to-back contests and 15 or more in three straight. He collected a season-high eight rebounds on Sunday.
- Chaney became only the fifth Valpo freshman since 2010 with 18 or more points and eight or more rebounds in a game, joining Cooper Schwieger, Sheldon Edwards, Alec Peters (three times) and Ryan Broekhoeff.
- Chaney shot 6-of-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3 on Sunday, his second straight game with four made triples. This was the first time a Valpo freshman had at least 18 points, eight rebounds and four made 3s in a game since Alec Peters on Dec. 14, 2013 vs. Loyola Marymount.
- Pettigrew, who has battled illness this week, matched a season high with 13 points including 6-of-6 at the stripe while gutting out 22 minutes. Owen Dease (Evansville, Ind. / Evansville Reitz [Texas A&M Corpus Christi]) had 10 points for his second straight double-figure output.
- Freshman Carter Hopoi (Tauranga, New Zealand / Mount Maunganui College NZ]) recorded team highs in assists (four) and blocks (three), both personal bests as well.
- After struggling at the foul line in the first half, the Beacons turned it around after the break, going 11-of-12 (91.7 percent) on freebies over the game’s final 20 minutes.
- In the last eight seasons, this was just the fifth time Valpo held a Division-I opponent to 50 points or fewer and first since a 67-50 conference tournament win vs. UIC last season.
- Bryant shot just 27.7 percent, Valpo’s best field-goal percentage defense against a Division-I opponent since holding Southern Illinois to 23.6 percent on Feb. 12, 2020.
Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
Up Next
Valpo (3-1) will visit Cleveland State on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CT. The game airs on ESPN+.