VALPARAISO | He already had scored 15 points in the first half. His team was up by 20 points in what was turning into a Horizon League blowout against Detroit.
But Jake Diebler will be Jake Diebler.
The Valparaiso senior knocked a ball away into the backcourt, and dove into the scorer's table to save it from going out of bounds. As the ball headed out under the Crusaders' basket, Diebler got up, hustled back and made another diving save, jamming his right shoulder into the basket support.
Valpo's Benjamin Fumey finished off the play with a tip-in, one of the highlights of Thursday's 64-41 victory over the Titans.
"That's just the way I was brought up to play," said Diebler, who finished with the 15 points tying his season high and one off his career best while playing with a severe cold.
Diebler hit three 3-pointers in the first half, as the Crusaders built a 31-16 halftime advantage and coasted the rest of the way before a sparse weeknight crowd.
Urule Igbavboa took over in the second half, scoring 14 points to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his career. Sophomore Benjamin Fumey added 10 points and seven rebounds.
"Jake got us off to a really good start, and then 'U' and Benny did a good job on the inside," Valpo coach Homer Drew said. "It was nice seeing Benny get to the boards, rebounding the ball and kicking it out."
Valpo had its best defensive effort against a Division I team in several years, holding the Titans (4-10, 0-5) to 36.8 percent shooting overall. In the first half, Detroit went 9:53 without scoring, missing 10 shots and turning it over six times against a variety of Valpo defenses.
No Detroit player reached double figures. Thomas Kennedy and Nemanja Jokic each scored nine to lead Detroit.
Valpo (5-11, 2-3) beat a Division I team for the first time since Dec. 4 at Youngstown State.
The Crusaders' biggest lead reached 25 late in the game, and 10 of 11 players scored including walk-ons Andrew Ferry and Nick Shelton.
"The thing that we loved to see was ending the first half on a 10-2 run in that last three or four-minute section," Drew said. "And at the start of the second half we were plus-five at the first TV timeout.
"It's a good win for us."
