Playing in its first ever Horizon League Championship, Valpo
hoped to carry the momentum from its win over Butler into the game against
Detroit. The game became a tale of two halves.
Six minutes into the first half, the Crusaders took a six to five lead
and would not look back. However, an 11-0 run by the Titans in the second half
saw the Titans take a 36-31 lead and put any hopes of a conference championship
for Valpo away.
The first half saw Valpo trail by three early on. But, a seven-0
run with 14:00 to play saw a 15-seven lead for the Crusaders that they would
not relinquish. After another 8-7 Crusader run, and with 6:30 to play, Detroit
was forced to call a timeout. This would allow the Titans to ultimately trim
the deficit to 27-24 at the half.
Valpo would take an early 31-25 lead in the second half, but
an 11-0 run by Detroit would turn the tables in the Titans’ favor. With just
over ten minutes to play in the second half, Ryan Broekhoff nailed a
three-pointer to cut the Titans’ lead to 40-37. Another 12-0 run by Detroit
extended the lead to 54-42, and put the game away for good.
Despite the loss, the Crusaders are guaranteed a berth in
the National Invitational Tournament as the regular season champions. While the
magic of 1998 is gone, a deep run in the NIT is still possible. The Crusaders
find out their destination and opponent at 8 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU.
The only other appearance in the NIT came in 2003, where
Valpo lost to Iowa in the opening round.
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