In what was supposed to be Homer Drew’s 600th career win in 2009, turned out to be just the opposite as the Detroit Titans upset the Crusaders 56-55. This was only the second win in the Horizon League for the Titans. Valparaiso has now dropped four of its last five.
“It is definitely a game we should have won. There are no moral victories from here on out,” Associate Head Coach Bryce Drew said.
After jumping to an early 16-9 lead, Valparaiso gave up a 16-2 at 9:28 in the first half. This would eventually cap a 6:30 minute scoring drive for the Titans. With 2:58 to go, the Crusaders got back on the board. Senior center/forward Urule Igbavboa scored his first two points with 1:47 left before halftime.
With Detroit riding a 29-26 lead going into the second half, it was obvious this game was going to be not only a slugfest, but a thriller as well. For almost the entire twenty minutes, neither team could seem to hold onto the lead as there were six lead changes.
“Erik Buggs did a great job of handling the ball for us as well as making good plays for us. Mike Rogers also got off to a good start,” Bryce Drew said.
What started out as a 32-28 lead for the Titans did not last long as Howard Little’s three- pointer made it a 34-32 Crusader lead. After back to back steals by Little, Jake Diebler tied it up at 34. Shortly after Detroit regained the lead, Cameron Witt’s three-pointer put the Crusaders back on top at 37-36.
With ten minutes to go, the Titans once again regained the lead. With 8:40 to go and trailing 39-37, Urule Igbavboa nailed a three to put Valparaiso up 40-39. Five minutes later, Michael Roger’s three made it 49-47 in favor of the Crusaders. After Detroit once again took a 51-49 lead, Urule Igbavboa nailed a three to tie it at 51 with 3:10 to go.
“With the short season that is left, hopefully we can learn from this. The coaches can only do so much,” Drew said.
Freshman Erik Buggs once again regained the lead for the Crusaders at 55-54 with 35 seconds left. While blocking a shot that could have given Detroit the lead for good, Buggs was called for his fifth foul. Then with 0.9 seconds to go, Igbavboa fouled out. This ultimately translated into a 56-55 loss for the Crusaders.
Poor shooting ended up being the demise of the Crusaders. Making only 20 of 49 or 41% of your field goals and committing seventeen turnovers will not win games. Making only 10 of 22 or 45% of your free throws is inexcusable. Missing nine free throws in the first half helped give the Titans only their second Horizon League win.
Valparaiso played well enough to win. A home game in the first round of the tournament is all but out now as the Crusaders are 6-18, (3-10).
The only highlight was the big stops made in the last 90 seconds including Urule fouling out to prevent a would-be layup. After the Titans went one for two from the line, Valparaiso’s only hope was to grab the rebound and hope for a Hail Mary bucket as time expired.
Next up is the Loyola Chicago Ramblers who come to the ARC on Friday, February 13 for a 7:05 p.m. tip off.
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