Valparaiso University men's basketball redshirt senior Owen Dease (Evansville, Ind. / Evansville Reitz [Texas A&M Corpus Christi]) was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week by the league office on Monday.
 
Dease nearly propelled the program to its first win over a member of the Big East, Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12 or Pac-12 since November 2016 as the Beacons pushed Marquette to the brink in a 75-72 overtime loss on Tuesday. He racked up 17 points in each of his two games this week (at Marquette, vs. CCSJ), leading the team in both contests. He also squeezed six rebounds against the Golden Eagles and followed with four vs. CCSJ. His points came at a high shooting clip as he went 5-of-6 at Marquette and 7-of-10 vs. CCSJ, going 4-of-6 from 3 for the week. Dease has scored 17 points or more in three straight and nine or more in six straight. Dease tied for the team's best plus-minus vs. CCSJ at +27.
 
This marks the team's third weekly award of the season as Rakim Chaney has twice been named MVC Freshman of the Week. Dease became Valpo's first MVC Newcomer of the Week since Nov. 20, 2023 (Isaiah Stafford).
 
The Beacons will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 13 as they welcome UNCW to the Athletics-Recreation Center for a 2 p.m. start. For ticket information, visit tickets.valpoathletics.com.