Friday, December 12, 2003

VALPO (2-4) vs. LOYOLA (1-1)

WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 13 - 2:05 p.m. CST

WHERE: ARC, Valparaiso, Indiana

TV: - (tape-delay) - Comcast Cable - Channel 43 in Valparaiso - Dick Harlan and Paul Curtis announcing.

RADIO: WEFM (95.9, Michigan City), WVUR-FM (95.1, Valparaiso) - Todd Ickow and Drew Wolf announcing. JR Radcliffe on the sidelines.

THE COACHES: Valparaiso is guided by Homer Drew, who has a career record of 507-310 in his 27th season and a record at Valpo of 238-188 in his 15th season. Loyola is led by Larry Farmer, who has a career mark of 158-160 in his 12th season and a record at Loyola of 63-83 in his 6th season.

SERIES RECORD: Loyola leads 28-8
LAST MEETING: 2002-03 - Loyola won 80-62

LAST GAME: Valpo lost to Wisconsin-Milwaukee 86-82 on Wednesday in Valparaiso. Loyola defeated UMKC 83-75 in overtime on Dec. 2 in Kansas City.

NEXT UP: After final exams and Christmas, Valpo will play Louisiana-Lafayette Sun., Dec. 28 in the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, Arizona.

Valpo entertains Loyola on Saturday in a 2:05 p.m. matinee to conclude a five-game homestand. The Crusaders (2-4) will take final exams next week and resume game action Dec. 28 against Louisiana-Lafayette at the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, Arizona. On Wednesday, Valpo dropped an 86-82 heartbreaker to Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the ARC. Kikas Gomes scored a career-high 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots, while Dan Oppland tallied 14 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. Ron Howard added a career-high 15 points.

BERDIEL LEADS MID-CON IN ASSISTS: Junior Ali Berdiel leads the Mid-Con in assists through Dec. 11. The 6'6" guard averages 6.67 apg. (40 in 6 games). Berdiel dished out nine assists in Wednesday's loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee and made seven in last Monday's win over Indiana State.

GOMES TIED FOR MID-CON LEAD IN BLOCKED SHOTS; RANKS 3rd AMONG LEAGUE REBOUNDING LEADERS: Kikas Gomes, who has recorded two straight double-doubles (points/rebounds), is tied for the Mid-Con lead in blocked shots (2.0, 12 total) through Dec. 11. The 6'8" senior also stands 3rd in the league in rebounding (8.8 pg.).

COLCLASURE LEADS MID-CON IN ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO, RANKS 4th IN 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Seth Colclasure, a sophomore guard, leads the Mid-Continent Conference in assist/turnover ratio through games of Dec. 11. Colclasure has dished out 16 assists and committed just six turnovers. He also ranks 4th in the league in 3-point field goal percentage, draining .524 (11-21) from beyond the arc.

VALPO'S SCHEDULE LACED WITH NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS: Valpo has already played three 2003 NCAA Tournament teams - Marquette, Cincinnati, Wisconsin-Milwaukee - and will play Duke and IUPUI, which also played in the Big Dance a year ago. If the Crusaders advance to the Fiesta Bowl Classic Championship, they could face another NCAA team - Arizona.

CHAMPIONSHIP RUN NATION'S BEST: By winning eight of the last nine Mid-Con regular season titles, Valpo has won the most championships of any school in the nation during that span.