The Valparaiso University men's basketball team put on a de facto "Basketball 101" clinic, posting the team's highest scoring output in league play since 1998 with a sound offensive performance in a 101-86 victory over Belmont. A balanced Beacon effort was led by 27 points and 13 rebounds from sophomore Cooper Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest [Link Year]), who recorded his third consecutive double-double.
 
How It Happened

• Belmont raced out to a 9-2 lead, as a second-chance 3 by Tyler Lundblade boosted the Bruin bulge to seven with 16:37 to go in the first half.
• A trey by Isaiah Shaw (Phoenix, Ariz. / Davidson Academy [GCU]) helped Valpo cut to within two at 9-7 with 16:11 on the clock. The Beacons got within one as Schwieger dialed it up from distance to make it 16-15 with 13 minutes on the first-half clock.
• After a steal by Darius DeAveiro (Kanata, Ottawa, Canada / Orangeville Prep) on the other end of the court, a Schwieger slam gave Valpo its first lead at 20-19 with 11:32 left in the half. A traditional 3-point play by Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (LaSalle, Quebec, Canada / Orangeville Prep [Western Michigan]) helped the Beacon cause, and Justus McNair (Joliet, Ill. / Joliet West) was fouled shooting a 3 and hit all three from the stripe.
• A 3 by All Wright (Durango, Mexico / Link Year) at the 8:33 mark doubled the Valpo lead to six, then the Beacons scored their next six points at the foul line to open up a double-figure edge at 39-29 with 6:30 to go in the opening stanza.
• The Canadian combo of De La Cruz Monegro and DeAveiro rained in 3s as a productive first half continued for the hosts. The lead reached 16 after a step-back by McNair with 3:54 on the clock to wrap up an 8-0 run, then Valpo went into halftime with its largest lead of 17 at 56-39 after a 3 by Tyler Schmidt (Valparaiso, Ind. / Victory Christian Academy) to close a 20-minute session that featured a variety of contributors, led by De La Cruz Monegro with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting.  
• A 7-0 run by the Beacons featuring a 3 by Wright built the lead all the way to 19 early in the second half. The hosts held a 20-point edge with 12:49 on the clock, but Belmont battled all the way back to within 10 at 77-67 with 9:24 to play and got within single figures at 79-70 when Lundblade swished one in from distance with 8:25 to go.
• A series of takes to the basket by Schwieger helped Valpo fend off the run, building it back to a 17-point lead on Wright's 3 with 2:49 remaining. The Bruins got to within a dozen one more time, but the Brown & Gold rolled to the 15-point win.

Inside the Game

• The 101 points eclipsed 98 on Jan. 8 of this season vs. Indiana State as Valpo's highest point total in a Missouri Valley Conference game since joining the league.
• The aforementioned game against the Sycamores went to overtime, so before Wednesday Valpo's highest point total in regulation in league play since joining The Valley was 90 on Feb. 22, 2020 vs. Bradley.
• The Beacons posted their highest point total against a Division-I opponent since a 117-108 triple-overtime loss to Mercer on Nov. 11, 2013.
• This marked Valpo's first time scoring 100+ points against a Division-I opponent in regulation since 103 on Dec. 21, 2010 at Oakland.
• This was Valpo's first time scoring 100 points in league play since Feb. 7, 2002, a 100-63 win over Chicago State in Mid-Continent Conference action. This marked the team's highest point total in league play since Jan. 31, 1998, a 102-74 Mid-Con victory at Chicago State.
• The 101 points were the most allowed by Belmont since Dec. 15, 2004, a 107-76 loss at UAB.
• The 15-point win was Valpo's largest margin of victory in league play since a 71-51 win at Illinois State on Jan. 21, 2023.
• Valpo became the second Missouri Valley Conference team to eclipse 100 points in a league game this season, joining Bradley (118 on Jan. 15 vs. Indiana State).
• The Beacons went 25-of-26 (96.2 percent) at the free-throw line, the team's best percentage with a minimum of 10 attempts since Jan. 2, 2022 vs. Illinois State (16-for-16). Valpo became just the sixth team nationally this season to shoot 96.2 percent or better from the stripe with a minimum of 25 attempts.
• Drake also went 25-of-26 at the free-throw line on March 3 of last season vs. Bradley. Prior to that, no MVC team had shot better than 96 percent at the stripe with 25 or more attempts since Wichita State on Nov. 15, 2012 vs. Western Carolina.
• Valpo shot 56.9 percent from the floor, the team's highest field-goal percentage against a Division-I opponent this season and highest against a D-I foe since Jan. 21, 2023 at Illinois State.
• The Beacons went 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) from 3, the team's highest 3-point percentage against a Division-I opponent since 56.3 percent on Jan. 21, 2023 at Illinois State.
• The win snapped a nine-game overall losing streak and a seven-game head-to-head skid against Belmont. The Beacons beat the Bruins for the first time since the latter joined The Valley and garnered their first win in the series since Dec. 3, 2015. The last time Belmont visited the ARC, the Bruins returned to Nashville with a 96-78 win, so this marked a 33-point turnaround from that contest.
• Valpo moved the ball to the tune of 18 assists, a season high against a Division-I opponent. This marked the team's top total against D-I competition since 19 on Jan. 28, 2023 vs. Evansville.
• Valpo owned a 40-26 advantage in the paint and a 27-10 edge in bench points. The Beacons won the rebounding battle 35-25 and held a 10-9 edge in the turnover battle, committing 10 turnovers or fewer for the 17^th time in 26 games this season.
• Schwieger had his third straight double-double with the aforementioned 27 points and 13 rebounds. He has seven double-doubles this season and nine in his collegiate career. He became the first Valpo player with at least 27 points and 13 rebounds in a game since Javon Freeman-Liberty (30&13) on Nov. 12, 2019 at SIUE. Schwieger became the first to do it in league play since Alec Peters (39&14) on Jan. 10, 2016 at Detroit Mercy.
• In the last 20 years, only Schwieger, Freeman-Liberty, Peters (x4) and recent Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Dan Oppland (27&16 on Feb. 17, 2005 vs. Southern Utah) have boasted games with at least 27 points and 13 boards.
• Schwieger also rejected three shots, becoming the first Valpo player with a 27-point, 13-rebound, three-block performance in over two decades. He became just the eighth player in the country to post such a stat line this season and the first Missouri Valley Conference player to do so since Illinois State's Sy Chatman (29-13-4) on Nov. 12, 2021 at Eastern Michigan.
• Wright scored 20 points, his fourth effort of 20+ in the last five games and his seventh such game this season.
• De La Cruz Monegro finished with 19 points, 17 of which came in the first half. He has posted back-to-back games of 19 points or more.
• Schmidt was the fourth Beacon who scored in double figures, going 6-of-8 shooting for 16 points, his highest total in the last seven games. He came off the bench for the first time since Dec. 5 after starting each of the previous 17 games.
• DeAveiro dished out nine assists and committed no turnovers, his third career game with nine or more assists and no turnovers and first this season. He tied a season high in assists set on Nov. 21 vs. Lindenwood. DeAveiro finished at +22 in the plus-minus on Saturday in 38 minutes of action.

Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
 
Up Next
Valpo (11-15, 4-11 MVC) will visit Evansville on Sunday night at 7 p.m. The game will be a Valley on ESPN exclusive airing on ESPN+