It was another topsy-turvy ride on Wednesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center, reminiscent of so many games that took place in that building this season and perfectly exemplifying the season as a whole for the Valparaiso University men's basketball team.
 
Visiting Drake started on a 9-0 run, but it was the host Beacons who scored the final seven points of the night, the last three of which came on a game-winning 3-pointer by freshman JT Pettigrew (Lisle, Ill. / Bolingbrook) with 2.1 seconds remaining. One last desperation heave by the Bulldogs was off the mark as the buzzer sounded, finalizing a 74-71 victory, clinching Valpo's first winning season in league play since joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 2017, securing the team's fourth straight victory and bringing the curtain down on the home slate in victorious fashion.
 
Head coach Roger Powell Jr. addressed the crowd after the game along with his five-member senior class, and those seniors were also recognized as part of a pregame Senior Night Ceremony. A large student section coupled with strong community support turned out to soak up the excitement on another special night at the ARC.
 
How It Happened

• Drake started hot, opening the game on a 9-0 run.
• Valpo fought back with four straight including a made 3 by Brody Whitaker (Greencastle, Ind. / Greencastle [University of Indianapolis / Marian]) with 7:34 left in the half.
• The Bulldogs pushed the advantage back to nine, but Justus McNair (Joliet, Ill. / Joliet West) knocked down a much-needed 3 at the 12:35 mark to get the Beacons back to within six, then Rakim Chaney (Rockford, Ill. / Rockford Auburn [212 Sports Academy]) joined the 3-point party to make it 15-12.
• Valpo's first lead came on another Chaney triple that occurred right after Owen Dease (Evansville, Ind. / Evansville Reitz [Texas A&M Corpus Christi]) had hit a 3 to reduce the Drake lead to one. The Chaney trey made it 28-26 Valpo with 5:37 on the clock, and later a layup by Dease put Valpo up four.
• Drake battled back into the lead, but a traditional 3-point play by Whitaker to close the first-half scoring shrunk the lead to one with Drake up 37-36 at the intermission. Valpo drained eight of its 15 3-point attempts in the first half, but went just 3-of-10 from inside the arc.
• The two teams exchanged leads and the score was within one possession for the first eight minutes of the second half, until a Drake 3 pushed the Bulldog lead to four at 56-52 with 11:53 remaining. Drake stretched the lead to five with 7:14 to go and seven with 6:34 remaining.
• Whitaker hit a 3 at the 6:13 mark to reduce the lead to four, but the Bulldogs went back up six on two more occasions including with under four minutes remaining.
• After two free throws by Pettigrew, Shon Tupuola's (Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg [Saint Mary-of-the-Woods]) hook shot cut the lead to two with three minutes to play, and later another Tupuola basket tied the game at 71 with 1:15 left.
• Pettigrew had a big steal with 49 seconds left, but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Drake turned it over again with 28 ticks remaining, giving Valpo a chance to hold for the last shot of regulation in a tied game.
• The Beacons played it out rather than calling a timeout, and their last-second look was a topside 3 from Pettigrew on a Whitaker assist that cleared the net with 2.1 seconds remaining. A half-court heave at the buzzer was off the mark, and the Beacons rejoiced in celebration.
• Drake missed seven of its final eight shots and Valpo made each of its last three, finishing the game on a 7-0 run.

Inside the Game

• Valpo owns a four-game winning streak, the program's longest since a five gamer during the 2018-2019 campaign.
• Valpo has tied for the longest winning streak in league play since joining the Missouri Valley Conference, matching the 2018-2019 team, which started 4-0 in Valley play.
• Valpo has clinched a winning Missouri Valley Conference record and secured the team's highest winning percentage in league play since joining The Valley.
• The Beacons improved to 6-1 in the last seven games and 9-3 in the last 12.
• Valpo has a stretch with six wins in a seven-game span in conference play for the first time since joining the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Head coach Roger Powell Jr.'s team has clinched a winning season.
• On Wednesday night, Valpo earned a 17^th regular-season victory, the program's highest regular-season win total (not counting conference tournament) since 2016-2017, the program's final Horizon League season and most recent regular-season conference title.
• The Brown & Gold finished with a 13-4 home record this season, the team's highest home win total since 2016-17.
• The Beacons secured a season sweep of Drake for the second time since joining The Valley and the first time since Year 1 in the league in 2017-2018.
• Valpo has had an affinity for playing – and often winning – close games, as 10 of the team's last 11 contests have been decided by single figures. Valpo's last eight wins have been decided by seven points or fewer. All 11 Valley victories have been decided by 10 points or fewer.
• Pettigrew had Valpo's first game-winner in the final five seconds since All Wright on Feb. 19, 2025 vs. Missouri State. This marked Valpo's 25^th game-winner in the final five seconds since the start of the 1992-1993 season.
• Pettigrew scored in double figures for the sixth straight game, finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds. This marked his 10^th straight game with at least five boards. He also dished out four assists, his fourth straight game with multiple.
• Whitaker and Chaney shared the team lead with 17 points apiece. Whitaker was 6-of-8 from the field and swished four of his five 3-point attempts on his senior night. He has made at least three 3s in three of his last four games.
• Chaney turned in his third straight double-figure performance and fifth in the last six games. This tied for his second-highest scoring output in league play behind only 20 in the first matchup with the Bulldogs.
• Tupuola had seven rebounds, his fourth straight game with at least five.
• Drake led by as many as nine and held the lead for 30 minutes, 30 seconds, while Valpo led when it counted but was in front for only 5 minutes, 31 seconds. The contest featured 11 ties and six lead changes.
• The Beacons buried a dozen 3s, tied for a season high with the Jan. 13 game at Belmont.
• Valpo was 14-of-17 at the free-throw line for 82.4 percent, the team's highest free-throw percentage in a game since Jan. 1 at Southern Illinois.
• Whitaker, Dease, Isaiah Barnes, Kyonte Thomas and Joe Vick were the five seniors celebrated on Wednesday along with managers Jojo David and Jam McClellan.

Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
 
Up Next
Valpo (17-13, 11-8 MVC) will visit Evansville on Saturday at 3 p.m. on ESPN+ in the regular-season finale.