Box Score The Valparaiso University men's basketball team outscored Drake after halftime on Wednesday night in Des Moines, Iowa, but a first-half hole was too big to overcome in an 81-71 defeat to the Bulldogs, a team that improved to 31-1 in its last 32 home games and holds the top NET and KenPom ratings in the Missouri Valley Conference. Foul trouble plagued the Beacons as the Bulldogs made their big run with several key Valpo players sidelined.
 
How It Happened

• The game was tightly played for the first eight minutes, which featured seven lead changes. All Wright (Durango, Mexico / Link Year) had a pair of early buckets including Valpo's first triple of the game, and both teams were 5-of-9 from the floor with Drake leading 14-13 when the game reached the under-12 media timeout of the first half.
• The next stretch saw the first separation of the game, as Drake went on an 11-0 run and made 10 of their next 11 shots, building up a lead that reached double figures at 11 with 8:52 to go in the half.
• The Bulldogs assembled another 8-0 run late in the half, building the margin to 14 at 38-24. By the time the horn sounded to end the first 20 minutes of play, Drake led 43-29 behind scorching shooting at 69.3 percent from the field in the opening half.
• Bennett Stirtz was a big factor with 12 points, five assists and no turnovers in the first half alone, while Mitch Mascari was 4-of-5 from the field, hit two 3s and tallied 10 points in the first stanza. Foul trouble plagued the Beacons, as Tyler Schmidt (Valparaiso, Ind. / Victory Christian) played just four minutes and had two fouls, while Cooper Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Vally Southwest) was limited to 14 minutes and picked up three fouls before the break.
• Valpo battled early in the second half, and Schmidt hit a big 3 with 14 minutes on the clock to shrink the deficit to single figures. On the next possession, Justus McNair (Joliet, Ill. / Joliet West) was dead center on two free throws, and Valpo cut the lead to seven at 52-45 with just over 13 minutes to go.
• The Beacons scored six straight points to cut a 15-point lead back to single figures when a Schwieger bucket at 4:15 made it 67-58. Valpo made several impressive stops on the defensive end during that stretch.
• The Beacons kept fighting each time the lead ballooned to double figures. Wright drained a triple at 1:16 to cut the lead to nine at 73-64. Valpo repeatedly fought back to within single figures but Drake hit its free throws down the stretch and held on for the 81-71 win despite the Beacons holding a 42-38 edge in the second half.

Inside the Game

• De La Cruz Monegro tallied a team-high 16 points and went 7-for-7 at the free-throw line. He had his highest point total in the last five games.
• Wright went 5-of-8 from the field and hit both of his 3-point attempts while compiling 15 points. This marked his third straight game in double figures including his second straight with at least 15.
• Schwieger had his 11^th straight game with at least a dozen points, scoring 14 on 5-of-7 shooting and pulling down a team-high six rebounds.
• McNair chipped in 10 points off the bench, the fifth double-figure scoring output of the season for the rookie.
• Schmidt swiped three steals, his fourth three-steal game of the season and second in the last three games. That helped Valpo hold an 11-10 edge in the turnover battle.
• Drake had 17 assists to Valpo's five.
• Foul trouble was key as Schwieger (+3) and Schmidt (+5) were both positive in the plus-minus category in a game Valpo lost by 10. The duo was sidelined by foul trouble when Drake made its big first-half run.
• The Beacons held the Bulldogs to 41.7 percent shooting in the second half after the hosts shot at a 69.6 percent clip in the first half.
• Each team had six offensive rebounds as Valpo battled on the boards. Valpo shot 48.9 percent from the floor against a stout Drake defense. As a team, Valpo was 21-of-25 (84 percent) at the free-throw line, while Drake was equally as impressive at 83.3 percent (20-of-24).
• Stirtz finished with 14 points and nine assists, while Mascari hit five 3s and tallied 21 points for Drake.

Up Next
Valpo (10-10, 3-6 MVC) will return home to host Evansville at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Athletics-Recreation Center. It's Cartoon Character Day featuring photos with everybody's favorite, Bluey & Bingo! The Chicago Bears drumline will perform at halftime. For ticket information, visit tickets.valpoathletics.com.