A comeback that was poetry in motion in the eyes of Valpo fans and a finish pulled right out of a Hollywood script helped the Valparaiso University men's basketball team leave Kalamazoo, Mich. with a majestic 76-73 victory over host Western Michigan on Friday afternoon. Freshman Justus McNair (Joliet, Ill. / Joliet West) drilled a buzzer-beater from nearly halfcourt, giving Valpo its first lead of the game with all zeros on the clock and helping the Beacons complete an improbable comeback after trailing 69-47 with 6:51 remaining.
 
McNair had missed a 3 on the previous possession, but bounced back in an admirable – and unforgettable – manner. Valpo basketball has a special relationship with buzzer-beaters, as this finish harkened back memories of the great moments in program history from Bryce Drew and Ryan Broekhoff and signature shots of more recent vintage like Markus Golder and Eron Gordon.
 
How It Happened

• Valpo experienced a rough start as Western Michigan scored the game's first seven points. The Broncos pushed the lead to double figures at 13-2 with 16:23 to go in the first half. The hosts led by double figures for most of the first half, and stretched the bulge to 17 at 32-15 with 6:17 to play in the opening stanza.
• Valpo got to within 11, but Western Michigan had stretched it back to 16 by the halftime break at 42-26.
• Sophomore Cooper Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest [Link Year]) came to life after halftime, but Valpo struggled to make up any ground over the first 13 minutes of the second half. In fact, Western Michigan had stretched the lead to 22 at 69-47 with 6:51 to go.
• Incredibly, Valpo outscored Western Michigan 29-4 the rest of the game to win it 76-73. Schwieger had five straight points including a 3 that ignited the run. All told, he scored 14 consecutive Valpo points culminating with a 3-point play at the 4:28 mark to trim the gap to 12.
• A fastbreak layup by McNair got it down to 10 with four minutes to go, then McNair scored the next two baskets to make it three in succession, getting the Beacons all the way to within six at 71-65 with 2:57 to play.
• With Valpo down eight, Schwieger was fouled shooting a 3 with 1:54 to go, and he went 3-for-3 at the stripe to make it 73-68. McNair's triple at 1:31 cut the lead to two, then Kaspar Sepp (Tartu, Estonia / Fairmont Academy) laid one in to tie the game with 1:06 to go.
• Valpo got stop after stop on the defensive end down the stretch. McNair had a chance to give his team the lead with 32 seconds left, but misfired from distance and it appeared Western Michigan could hold for the final shot of regulation. The Broncos missed a 3 with five seconds left, and McNair came down with the rebound, dribbling past half-court before draining a buzzer-beater that will live in Valpo lore.
• Valpo finished the game on an 11-0 run and outscored the Broncos 24-2 over the final 5:24.

Inside the Game

• McNair's game-winner was Valpo's first in the final five seconds since Nick Edwards drove to the basket for the game-winning layup in the closing seconds of an 81-79, overtime victory over James Madison on Nov. 27, 2022 in Savannah, Ga.  
• Valpo has a storied history of last-second shots, as this marked the program's 27^th game-winner in the final five seconds since the start of the 1992-93 season.
• Although Edwards and Eron Gordon (2020 MVC Tournament vs. Loyola) had game-winning shots in the closing seconds, there was time left on the clock in both of those instances. This marked Valpo's first true buzzer-beater since Markus Golder hit from 50 feet on Jan. 2, 2019 vs. Illinois State, capping a comeback from 10 down over the final two minutes.
• The 22-point comeback tied for the largest on record in program history and was the team's largest since Jan. 17, 2013 at Detroit Mercy, an 89-88 win. In that one, the Titans' largest lead came with 17 minutes remaining, compared to just seven minutes remaining with Valpo facing a 22-point deficit on Friday.
• The 22-point comeback is tied for the third largest nationally this season – behind only Arkansas State (27 vs. UAB) and Cal Poly (23 vs. Denver) and tied with Radford (22 vs. Evansville). Valpo and Radford are the only two teams in the country to win in regulation after trailing by 22 points or more in a game this season.
• The 22-point rally is also tied for the fifth largest in Missouri Valley Conference history and the second largest by a Valley team since 2005.
• According to KenPom, Valpo had a win probability of 0.3 percent late in the game, tied for the lowest in a victory nationally this season (North Dakota State vs. Santa Clara; UTSA vs. Merrimack).
• Schwieger finished with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting despite going 1-of-2 for two points in the opening half. He scored 19 points or more for the third time this season and had 16 or more for the second straight outing.
• Schwieger also pulled down six rebounds, his eighth time in 11 games with six boards or more.
• Schwieger led four Beacons in double figures, including McNair, whose game-winner gave him 13 points, his second-highest output of the season and his third double-figure scoring output as a rookie. McNair shot 5-of-7 from the field and drained a pair of 3s while also squeezing a season-high four rebounds.
• Junior Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (LaSalle, Quebec, Canada / Orangeville Prep), who was playing against his former team after making 61 starts and appearing in 63 games over the last two years at Western Michigan, continued his consistent play with 13 points. He has tallied at least nine points in all 11 games this season including three straight with 13 or more. He grabbed a season-high four rebounds on Friday.
• Freshman All Wright (Durango, Mexico / Link Year) finished with 10 points, his third straight double-figure scoring output and sixth of the season.
• Fifth-year senior Tyler Schmidt (Valparaiso, Ind. / Victory Christian Academy [Olivet Nazarene]) battled through a blow to the face that caused a dental injury, limiting him to 28 minutes as he missed part of the first half. He still scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.
• Valpo turned it over just eight times, limiting the turnovers to 10 or fewer for the ninth time in 11 games this season including six of the last seven. Valpo won or tied the turnover battle for the 10^th straight game.

Up Next
The Beacons (6-5) will close out the nonconference portion of the season on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Calumet College of St. Joseph at the Athletics-Recreation Center. For ticket information, visit valpoathletics.com/tickets.