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The Valparaiso Crusaders (19-4, 6-2) started off hot Monday night and never looked back as they picked up their sixth conference win of the season, 73-48, at home against the Milwaukee Panthers (7-13, 2-5).
The Crusaders seemed able to put that heartbreaking one-point loss against Green Bay behind them, and came out shooting lights out Monday night, connecting on their first three 3-pointers of the game.
Valpo continued to shoot well in the first half and took a 23-point lead into halftime 39-16.
The Panthers could not find their rhythm from behind the arc, but that didn't stop them from shooting, as they have out shot their opponents in 3-point attempts by more than 100 on the year. Milwaukee missed their first 15 three's before sinking one with 2:54 remaining in the game. That added up to a 1-for-17 performance in the loss.
Alec Peters (17.4 ppg) bounced back after scoring only nine points at Green Bay on Friday, a game in which he played on an injured ankle. He finished with 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting and 2-for-4 from deep.
After the game when Alec was asked about his astounding shooting night and his shot-clock buzzer beater in the first half he said,"I felt like Klay Thompson." Thompson, a guard for the NBA's Golden State Warriors, scored 37 points in a quarter Friday and added 31 points Sunday in win over the Boston Celtics.
Valpo was able to make baskets at a high percentage throughout the game from anywhere they wanted, shooting 56 percent from the field, 60 percent from 3-point range, and 86.7 percent from the foul line, an area they had been struggling to connect.
David Skara (5.3 ppg) added in 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting and went 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. Skara had a spectacular finish on a layup early in the game in which he was tripped and fell towards the ground but was able to get the shot off just before hitting the deck. Afterwards, Skara said, "I have no idea how that went in."
The leading scorer for the Panthers was Matt Tiby (11.4 ppg) who finished with 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
The Crusaders head to UIC on Saturday in their second meeting of the year. Milwaukee's next game is also against UIC, at home, Thursday.