Balanced scoring leads VU men to revenge win

VALPARAISO | Now Julius Mays has two reasons to dislike coming to Valparaiso.

The Wright State junior tweeted his disdain for the social scene in Valparaiso earlier this week and then left the Athletics-Recreation Center with his head down Saturday night after the Crusaders used a balanced scoring effort to pull out a 63-54 victory to keep pace for a double bye in the Horizon League tournament.

Richie Edwards tallied 16 points for the second consecutive game and led four players in double figures as Valparaiso gained a measure of revenge after falling to the Raiders 73-55 earlier this season.

"I've just been getting up more shots and getting my reps in after practice," Edwards said. "I just took what they gave me tonight. The guards were finding me, and it was really just easy layups."

Despite his thoughts on the city, Mays liked the ARC plenty Saturday, scoring a game-high 20 points and grabbing a game-high seven rebounds. Every time Mays would try to jump-start a run in the second half, the Crusaders would answer; first with back-to-back 3-pointers from Matt Kenney and then with a shot-clock-beating 3-pointer from Edwards that gave the Crusaders an eight-point lead with just over four minutes left.

"They were starting to come back, and it was an important shot," Edwards said. "Ryan (Broekhoff) was trapped on the baseline, and he saw me sitting on the corner. He made a good pass, and I was able to get off the shot."

The Raiders (11-14, 6-7) would never go away, but the Crusaders kept hitting their shots, finishing the night shooting at a 65.6 percent clip. The win gives Valparaiso a victory against every member of the Horizon League with a huge conference game at Cleveland State on Thursday.

The Crusaders (17-8, 10-3) are a half game behind the Vikings for first place and have a two-game lead over Youngstown State for second place. Valparaiso will travel to both schools this week.

"Again, and I know I've been saying it, but we look at this whole thing like an 18-game season," Valparaiso coach Bryce Drew said. "Every game is important. You don't want to lose twice to a team, but we look at every one of these conference games like it's important."

The Crusaders got quite a scare Saturday when Broekhoff crashed hard to the ground under the basket late in the first half. Players immediately began calling for the training staff, and Broekhoff limped off the floor. He returned several minutes later to a large ovation. Broekhoff wasn't the only ailing Valparaiso player as Kevin Van Wijk battled stomach flu and made several trips to a sideline garbage can during the game.

"With some guys banged up, I thought Matt and Richie really stepped up for their teammates tonight," Drew said. "Richie has played back-to-back his two best games in a Valparaiso uniform."