Freshman JT Pettigrew (Lisle, Ill. / Bolingbrook) turned in his second consecutive double-double with a 17-point, 13-rebound performance, but the Valparaiso University men's basketball team experienced a rare rough night as the Beacons fell 86-64 to host Illinois State at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Ill. The game was tied at halftime before Illinois State exploded for a big second half.
 
How It Happened

• The two teams played even early as Valpo fell behind by five but came back on a triple by Rakim Chaney (Rockford, Ill. / Rockford Auburn) and midrange "J" by Brody Whitaker (Greencastle, Ind. / Greencastle [University of Indianapolis]) that made it 7-7 with 16 minutes left in the first half.
• Illinois State's Chase Walker came back into the game and ended a 7-0 Valpo run that had put the Beacons up 9-7. Walker had nine of the team's first 14 points and had the hosts out to a 14-13 lead at the 10:56 mark.
• A huge 3 by Whitaker with 8:02 on the first-half clock put Valpo ahead 21-18 and forced a timeout by the Redbirds.
• Valpo continued to play well on the defensive end. After the Beacons led 23-18, Illinois State did score five straight to tie the game on a 3 by Landon Moore. However, two free throws by Whitaker and then a bucket by Sader Servilus (Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Fort Erie International Academy) helped Valpo surge ahead 27-23 at the under-4 media timeout. The Redbirds missed six of seven shots during the stretch where Valpo went ahead by four.
• Valpo led by seven after Servilus hit a 3 to make it 30-23 with three minutes left in the first half, but the Redbirds heated up from long range late in the half, making three 3s in the final three minutes including two from Johnny Kinziger, who had eight points in the final three minutes of the half after being held scoreless up until that point.
• The late-half surge allowed Illinois State to get even at halftime with the game tied at 34 through 20 minutes.
• Illinois State outscored Valpo 16-15 in a high-scoring first five minutes of the second half. Owen Dease (Evansville, Ind. / Evansville Reitz [Texas A&M Corpus Christi]) hit a big 3 to tie the game at 47 at the 16:05 mark, his first basket of the game. Illinois State made six of its nine shots and four of six from 3 early in the second half.
• After the high-scoring start to the half, both teams cooled off. Chaney did drill a big 3 to tie the game at 52 with 13:56 left, but Illinois State held a 54-52 edge at the under-12 media timeout.
• Valpo called timeout after a 6-0 run including a runout dunk gave Illinois State a 58-52 lead with 11:18 to play.
• Illinois State stayed hot, stretching the lead to 68-57 with 7:24 to play. After the game was tied at 52 with 13:56 to go, Illinois State caught fire, outscoring Valpo 34-12 the rest of the way.

Inside the Game

• Pettigrew now has five double-doubles on the season including each of his last two games. Over his last two games, the freshman has 40 points and 25 rebounds. He finished with 17 points and 13 boards on Thursday, setting a career high on the glass.
• Pettigrew is one of four players in the Missouri Valley Conference with at least five double-doubles this season, joining Fredrick King of Murray State (eight), Rolyns Aligbe of Southern Illinois (five) and Ian Scott of Indiana State (five).
• Pettigrew's 13 rebounds were the most by a Valpo freshman since Cooper Schwieger had 13 on Jan. 14, 2024, also at Illinois State.  He joined Cooper Schwieger, Ben Krikke, Donovan Clay, Javon Freeman-Liberty and Alec Peters as the only Valpo players with a 17-point, 13-rebound game in the last decade and is the only player on that list to do so as a freshman.
• Whitaker contributed 13 points, his second straight 13-point output.
• Chaney finished with 10 points, scoring in double figures for the fifth time in his last six games.
• Valpo's previous six games were all decided by single figures. This was the first Valpo game decided by double figures in either direction since a 54-44 win over UNI on Jan. 17. Of Valpo's first 14 MVC games, only one was decided by more than 10 points prior to Thursday.
• This was Valpo's second most lopsided defeat of the season behind Nov. 7 at Kentucky as this game seemed to be a true aberration. Valpo had not experienced a 20-point loss in league play since the 2023-24 season, attesting to the consistent competitiveness of the team over the last two seasons.

Up Next
Valpo (13-13, 7-8 MVC) will host Indiana State on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the ARC. It's a Going for Gold game with fans encouraged to wear gold, and the Mental Health Awareness Game presented by Compass Counseling. For ticket information, visit tickets.valpoathletics.com.