The Valparaiso University men’s basketball program recognized a quintet of seniors on Wednesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center prior to a 76-66 setback to Bradley in the home finale. Ben Krikke (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada / Jasper Place), Nick Edwards (Atlanta, Ga. / Grayson [Glenville State]), Quinton Green (Columbus, Ohio / Homeschool [Cedarville]), Kobe King (La Crosse, Wis. / La Crosse Central [Wisconsin]) and Luke Morrill (Lombard, Ill. / Montini) along with student manager Sam Back (North Judson, Ind. / North Judson) and cheer/dance seniors were celebrated as part of a pregame ceremony. Head coach Matt Lottich and the senior players addressed the crowd after the game.
How It Happened
- Valpo raced out to a 9-2 lead in the early going, with Maximus Nelson (Appleton, Wis. / Appleton North) hitting a 3 at the 17:36 mark to extend the lead to seven.
- Bradley responded with a 10-point run to jump ahead 12-9 by the 14-minute mark.
- Valpo led by four at the 10:36 mark of the first half to make it 18-14. Bradley followed with a 9-0 run to grab a five-point lead and force a Valpo timeout with 7:19 on the clock.
- With 2:28 left in the first half, Bradley had its first double-figure lead of the day at 39-28, and the Braves had their largest lead at 42-30 when the game reached the halftime break. Bradley had 10 offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points in the opening half.
- Bradley built the lead up to 15 early in the second half, but Valpo bit into the deficit and eventually slimmed the lead down to seven when Green hit a 3 at the 12:49 mark.
- The Beacons could get no closer, but did outscore the Braves 36-34 after the break.
Inside the Game
- Krikke scored a team-high 17 points, while Green contributed 16 and knocked down four of his six 3-point attempts. Krikke reached double figures for the 18th straight game and has been in double figures in all 19 league contests.
- King tallied 10 points, his 30th consecutive game with a double-figure scoring output. He shattered the program record for consecutive double-figure scoring outputs within the same season. Previously, Alec Peters (2016-17) and Javon Freeman-Liberty (2019-20) shared the program record for consecutive double-figure scoring outputs within the same year.
- Krikke entered the program’s all-time top 10 for points in a single season on Wednesday. He finished the day with 584 points this year, climbing over fellow lefty Dan Oppland’s 2004-05 season (577) and Oppland’s 2005-06 season (573) to jump to ninth on the single-season scoring list.
- Krikke moved into seventh on the program’s single-season made field goal list, upping his total to 229. He leapfrogged Javon Freeman-Liberty (2019-20, 227) and Alec Peters (2015-16, 223) on Wednesday.
- Edwards gave out eight assists, climbing into the top 10 in single-season program history for assists. He surpassed Bryce Drew’s 1996-97 season (145) and Ali Berdiel’s 2002-03 season (146) to move into ninth in program history with 152 assists this season.
- The starting lineup featured all five seniors who were recognized on Wednesday including Morrill, a walk-on who made his first collegiate start. This snapped a streak of Valpo having the same starting lineup in 14 consecutive games.
Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
Up Next
Valpo (11-19, 5-14 MVC) will close out the regular season on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Murray State in Murray, Ky. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
