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It's tough to have a long road trip in college basketball, and sometimes you get tired after 3,000+ miles of travel. Loyola Marymount certainly slowed down in the second half today, and Valparaiso took advantage. Shooting 56.5% and starting the half on an 18-4 run, Valpo quickly erased the 10 point hole they were in at the half to win the game 80-73.
Alec Peters led the Crusaders to a career tying 30 points and 8 rebounds in the victory. Jordan Coleman added 12 points and LaVonte Dority shook off an 0 for 6 start to finish the game with 10 points.
Anthony Ireland led the Lions on the scoresheet with 18 points and 8 assists, but he only shot 33% on the day. Evan Payne knocked down 8 free throws to finish with 12 points and Gabe Levin finished with 11 points and only 4 rebounds.
The biggest oddity of this game was the offensive rebound numbers, Valparaiso had 20 and Loyola had 19, to counter the 38 total defensive rebounds. I personally haven't witnessed a game where there more offensive rebounds than defensive. Moussa Gueye led the field with 6 offensive boards, Bobby Capobianco had 4 and Evan Payne had 3 to lead the Lions.
Loyola Marymount led the game by as many as 12 points in the first half, but cold shooting and a 56% performance from the free throw line doomed the Lions.