Friday, November 08, 2002

After defeating International Select 73-62 last Sunday, the Valpo men's basketball team hosts Northwest Sports Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Northwest Sports is comprised of former college players.

Against International Select, the Crusaders featured a balanced attack. Raitis Grafs led Valpo with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Joaquim Gomes recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards. Freshman Dan Oppland added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Ali Berdiel scored 10 points and dished out five assists. Greg Tonagel played a complete game with eight points, a team-high six assists, six rebounds and three steals.

Northwest Sports is in the middle of a schedule that began on Oct. 25 and concludes Jan. 4. The squad, which plays 42 games against universities and colleges, will also participate in two tournaments. Players on the roster include Ed Gray, who played collegiately at California and in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks, as well as Evric Gray of UNLV '93 and JeRon Boone of Nebraska '96.

Valpo, the defending Mid-Continent Conference Champion, begins the regular season at Syracuse on Sun., Nov. 24 at noon CST.