Despite a late comeback, Valparaiso couldn't get past Big Ten opponent Nebraska. The Crusaders closed a double-digit Husker lead down to just two points, but a potential game-winning shot from three-quarter court fell short.
Valpo trailed by by 14 points just five minutes into the second half, and was still behind by 11 with 7:21 remaining in the game. But the Crusader defense held Nebraska scoreless for the next seven minutes before Brandon Ubel made two free throws with 14 seconds remaining.
With the lead down to two points, the Crusaders put Andre "the Giant" Almeida on the line, and he missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Matt Kenney grabbed the rebound, but his heave at the buzzer just didn't have enough umph to reach the rim 65 feet away. Final score: Nebraska 50, Valpo 48.
The game could have been a lot different had Ryan Broekhoff not spent a good deal of time in the first half sitting on the bench. His shooting game wasn't there tonight, but his presence inside along with Kevin Van Wijk was a lot for the Huskers to handle.
Broekhoff finished with just eight points on 2 of 11 shooting, but he still grabbed 10 rebounds, all on the defensive end.. Van Wijk led the Crusaders with 20 points and added six boards.