The Valparaiso University men's basketball team entered the Missouri Valley Conference win column on Sunday afternoon at the Athletics-Recreation Center, rallying from down eight to beat UIC 66-59. Freshman JT Pettgirew (Lisle, Ill. / Bolingbrook) led the Beacons in both points (21) and rebounds (seven), while sophomore Justus McNair (Joliet, Ill. / Joliet West) contributed 12 points and six boards.
 
How It Happened

• The game was back-and-forth early, and eventually McNair knocked in a go-ahead 3 to make it 9-6 Valpo with 14:12 on the first-half clock. The Flames regained an 11-9 edge on a 3 with 12:49 on the clock.
• UIC built up a six-point lead at the 11:29 mark and expanded the edge to eight with 9:43 to go in the half. Shon Tupuola (Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg [Saint Mary-of-the-Woods]) stemmed the tide with a dunk with 8:16 to shrink the gap to six.
• A key 3 by Brody Whitaker (Greencastle, Ind. / Greencastle [University of Indianapolis / Marian]) with 6:03 to go in the first half sliced a six-point UIC advantage in half, then Whitaker assisted as Pettigrew drained one from long range to tie the game at 23.
• Valpo took its first lead in nearly 10 minutes when Owen Dease (Evansville, Ind. / Evansville Reitz [Texas A&M Corpus Christi]) drained a 3 with 3:51 to go in the half. Valpo opened the edge to four, but UIC reeled off the final five points of the half and went into the intermission leading 32-31.
• UIC went on a 10-0 run midway through the second half, prompting a Valpo timeout with the Flames ahead 49-43 with 11:35 remaining. Valpo trailed 54-47 with 6:53 to play, but the hosts outscored the guests 19-5 down the stretch.
• Chaney drained a 3 with 5:12 on the clock to slim the UIC lead to one. That would be Valpo's final made field goal of the game, but the Beacons got the job done at the free-throw line down the stretch, going 13-for-16 in the final 4:31 to surge ahead.

Inside the Game

• Pettigrew poured in a career high for the second straight game, finishing with 21 points including a glowing 10-of-10 at the free-throw line. He scored in double figures for the sixth time in his last eight games and grabbed precisely seven rebounds for the third straight contest.
• Pettigrew became the first Valpo player to go perfect at the free-throw line with at least 10 attempts since Tevonn Walker also went 10-for-10 on Jan. 3, 2018 at Bradley. Walker (twice), Alec Peters (twice) and Ryan Broekhoff are the only Valpo players to do so since 2007.
• Pettigrew became just the fifth freshman nationally to go perfect at the free-throw line with at least 10 attempts this season, joining Isaiah Johnson (Colorado), Kam Sanders (Air Force), Caleb Wilson (North Carolina) and Roman Domon (Murray State).
• McNair tied a career high with six rebounds, matching his total from Nov. 19 at Cleveland State. His 12 points marked his third-highest total of the year and highest in his last five games.
• Valpo made a conscious effort to get the ball inside, as the Beacons attempted a season-low 11 3s, five fewer than the previous season low for 3-point attempts. When they did shoot 3s, they went in at a higher clip, as the squad's 3-point percentage of 45.5 was its second best of the year and best since 45.8 on Nov. 29 vs. Western Michigan.
• Valpo created 40 free-throw attempts, the team's most since Jan. 8 of last season vs. Indiana State (43) and most in regulation since Nov. 27, 2024 vs. Northern Illinois (44). This marked Valpo's highest free-throw total in a regulation conference game since joining the Missouri Valley Conference.
• The 31 made free throws (77.5 percent) were Valpo's most since Jan. 8 of last season vs. Indiana State (32) and most in a regulation game since Nov. 27, 2024 vs. Northern Illinois (35). This marked Valpo's most made free throws in a regulation conference game since joining the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Dease was the team leader in plus-minus at +24 in 30 minutes, followed by Pettigrew at +20.
• Valpo held UIC to two made 3s, the fewest by a Valpo opponent since the season opener when the Beacons held Eastern Illinois to a pair of triples as well. Valpo's defensive 3-point percentage of 16.7 was a season best and the best since holding Illinois State to 5.6 percent from 3 in a 59-50 victory on Jan. 14, 2024.
• The Beacons picked up their second win of the season when trailing at halftime, reversing a 32-31 deficit by outscoring the Flames 35-27 after the break.

Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
 
Up Next
Valpo (7-8, 1-3 MVC) will remain home to host Illinois State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Decades Night. For ticket information, visit tickets.valpoathletics.com.