Valparaiso University

The Valparaiso University men's basketball team is officially back.
 
The Beacons started the season on the right foot, downing visiting Western Illinois 80-58 on Monday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Early returns indicate that sophomore Carter Hopoi (Tauranga, New Zealand / Mount Maunganui College NZ) could be the team's most-improved player after his eight-point, eight-rebound showing that featured a team-best plus-minus of +28. Sophomore JT Pettigrew (Lisle, Ill. / Bolingbrook) picked up where he left off, pouring in a game-high 18 points.
 
How It Happened

• The Beacons didn't wait long for their first dunk of the season, as Rakim Chaney (Rockford, Ill. / Rockford Auburn [212 Sports Academy]) threw one down for the game's first basket with Hopoi recording the assist.
• Valpo started slow on the offensive end, but Terron Garrett (St. Louis, Mo. / Vashon [Mineral Area College]) sparked the Beacons by coming off the bench to make a 3 at the 15:09 mark of the first half.
• Western Illinois led 11-7 seven minutes into the contest, but Garrett's second 3 started a 9-0 run that put the Beacons ahead 16-11.
• Hopoi slammed home a dunk with 6:01 left in the first half, then Sader Servilus (Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Fort Erie International Academy) tossed in a second-chance layup to open the lead to double figures at 26-15 with 5:16 left in the first.
• Chaney's fastbreak dunk stretched the lead to 13, and eventually Hopoi added another dunk to put an exclamation mark on a game-changing 12-0 run that broke it open at 32-15 with 2:31 left in the half. Valpo went into the locker room ahead 38-19.
• A dunk by redshirt freshman Kobe Walker (Normal, Ill. / Normal Community) stretched the cushion to 26 with 5:57 left in the second half. That would stand as the team's largest lead of the night. Hopoi threw down another dunk with 3:47 on the clock. Valpo sustained its lead throughout the second half, ultimately outscoring the Leathernecks by a thinner 42-39 margin in the second stanza.

Inside the Game

• Head coach Roger Powell Jr. coached his 100^th game at the helm of Valpo's program on Monday.
• Hopoi made his third collegiate start and first since Nov. 16, 2025. His eight rebounds surpassed his previous personal best of seven, which came on Feb. 6, 2026 vs. Evansville. Hopoi dished out a team-high three assists, one shy of a personal best. He also blocked three shots, one shy of a career high in that category as well.
• Pettigrew's 18 points marked his ninth straight double-figure scoring output dating back to last season.
• Chaney joined his sophomore classmate in double figures with 10, his sixth double-figure scoring output in his last seven games dating back to last season.
• Freshman Rajan Roberts (Chicago, Ill. / AZ Compass Prep) tallied double figures with 13 points in his collegiate debut.
• Sophomore Sader Servilus (Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Fort Erie International Academy) squeezed six rebounds and posted a plus-minus of +22, second-best on the team. He was one rebound shy of tying his career high of seven from Feb. 9, 2026 at Drake.
• Garrett knocked down both of his 3-point attempts and finished with eight points in his Valpo debut. Walker added eight in his collegiate debut after redshirting last season, part of a balanced effort that saw six players score at least eight points.
• Valpo extended its head-to-head winning streak against Western Illinois to six and its home winning streak in the series to nine.
• Valpo improved to 21-1 in its last 22 home openers, with 18 of those home-opening victories coming by double-figure margins.
• Valpo improved to 4-0 in home openers during the Powell Era.
• Valpo improved to 11-4 in season openers in the last 15 years and 3-1 under Powell.
• Valpo held an opponent to 58 points or fewer for the first time since Jan. 17, 2026 vs. UNI (44).
• Valpo's 22-point margin of victory marked its largest since beating CCSJ 98-58 on Dec. 6, 2025 and largest against a Division-I opponent since beating Western Michigan 84-55 on Nov. 29, 2025. This marked the third most lopsided victory against a Division-I opponent of the Powell Era behind the 29-point win over Western Michigan and a 28-point win over Eastern Illinois on Nov. 24, 2024.
• Valpo held a 38-30 edge in the rebounding battle and an 11-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
• The Beacons won the turnover battle 16-9, continuing a trend from last season, when Valpo had single-digit turnovers on 15 occasions.

Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
 
Up Next
Valpo (1-0) will play at Purdue on Friday in a game that is nationally televised on Big Ten Network. The contest will tip off at 5:30 p.m. CT / 6:30 p.m. ET at Mackay Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.