Friday, February 04, 2005

VALPO (10-11, 6-3) vs. CENTENARY (2-18, 0-9)

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 5 - 7:05 p.m. CT

WHERE: ARC, Valparaiso, Indiana

RADIO: WEFM (95.9, Michigan City), WVUR-FM (95.1, Valparaiso) - Todd Ickow and Andy Viano announcing.

TV: live - WYIN 56 - Dick Harlan and Joe Arredondo announcing. Todd Medland sidelines.

THE COACHES: Valparaiso is guided by Homer Drew, who has a career record of 533-330 in his 28th season and a record at Valpo of 264-208 in his 16th season. Centenary is led by Kevin Johnson, who has a career mark of 64-94 in his 6th season and a record at Centenary of 64-94 in his 6th season.

SERIES RECORD: Centenary leads 4-2

LAST MEETING: Feb. 5, 2005 - Centenary won 78-73 in Shreveport, Louisiana

VALPO M.A.S.H. UNIT: Homer Drew has been forced to juggle a unit that has been besieged with injuries this season. Five players - senior point guard Ali Berdiel (19), freshman Shawn Huff (5), sophomore Kenny Harris (10), freshman Jarryd Loyd (4) and sophomore Jimmie Miles (5) have missed a total of 43 games due to injuries. Berdiel is out of action indefinitely. Valpo has played with eight scholarship players in nine games this season.

COLCLASURE 2nd IN MID-CON IN 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE: Seth Colclasure stands 2nd in the Mid-Continent Conference in 3-point percentage (.465). A junior, Colclasure has made 46 of 99 from beyond the arc.

Valpo takes a three-game win streak into Saturday night's game against Centenary at the ARC. The Crusaders (10-11, 6-3) played four of their last five games on the road, posting a 4-1 mark during the stretch.

On Thursday, Valpo defeated IUPUI 64-61 at Conseco Fieldhouse. Ron Howard led four Crusaders in double figures with 14 points. The 6'5" junior scored six of his points in the final 1:34, including two free throws with 9.8 seconds remaining. Shawn Huff added 11 points and a career-high eight rebounds. Seth Colclasure netted 11 and Kenny Harris scored 10, including six during a 10-0 run in the second half.

Centenary (2-18, 0-9) has dropped 13 straight, including Thursday's contest against Oral Roberts (91-67). The Gents' Chad Maclies ranks 2nd in Mid-Con in scoring with 18.6 ppg. and 4th in rebounding (8.2 pg.).

VALPO CONTINUES TO LEAD NATION IN 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE: For the third straight week, Valpo leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage through games of Feb. 3. The Crusaders, currently shooting 43.1 percent from 3-point territory (149-346), are tied with North Carolina.. Furman stands 3rd at 42.9. The Crusaders also stand 12th in the nation in free throw percentage (.747).

OPPLAND MAINTAINS CONSISTENCY: Dan Oppland leads Valpo and ranks 5th in the Mid-Con in scoring with 18.0 ppg. The 6'8" junior recently reached the 1,000-career point milestone and has scored 1,009 points. In addition to scoring in double figures in 19 of the 21 games, Oppland is averaging 20.0 ppg. in Mid-Continent Conference games. He also stands 4th in the league in free throw percentage (.800) and 10th in field goal percentage (.508).

HOWARD HITS HIGH GEAR IN MID-CON PLAY: Junior Ron Howard has elevated his game to a higher level this season. Valpo's second-leading scorer (12.7 ppg.), Howard has averaged 7.0 assists over the last seven games, including a career-high 11 vs. Western Illinois and 10 vs. Oakland in consecutive games.The 6'5" swingman is averaging 16.8 ppg. in Mid-Con games. Howard ranks 4th in the Mid-Con with 4.1 assists per game. In Mid-Con games only, he stands 2nd in the league in assists (6.1 pg.).

HUFF SHOOTING LIGHTS OUT IN MID-CON: In Mid-Con games only, freshman Shawn Huff leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage (.545), draining 12 of 22.