For the second time in the last seven days, the Valparaiso University men's basketball team faced a double-figure, second-half deficit against an instate opponent. Both times, the Beacons rallied to win in overtime, this time beating Evansville 70-63 on Friday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
 
A solid performance from the Beacon bench coupled with 18 points from Owen Dease (Evansville, Ind. / Evansville Reitz [Texas A&M Corpus Christi]) and 16 from Justus McNair (Joliet, Ill. / Joliet West) helped Valpo secure its best record through 24 games since the 2019-2020 season. The Beacons outscored the Purple Aces 21-3 during a seven-minute stretch in the second half, turning the game around. Head coach Roger Powell Jr.'s team played shorthanded, as two rotation players including one starter were sidelined with injuries.
 
How It Happened

• Valpo took its first two-possession lead of the game when Rakim Chaney (Rockford, Ill. / Rockford Auburn [212 Sports Academy]) swished a 3 with 13:16 left in the first half to make it 10-6 in favor of the hosts. A minute later, McNair knocked one in from distance, building the edge to five at 13-8.
• The McNair trey spurred a 7-0 run that expanded a two-point lead to seven. Carter Hopoi (Tauranga, New Zealand / Mount Maunganui College NZ) drove to the bucket for a dunk that made it 15-8 with 11:17 left in the opening half, then McNair added another hoop that made it 17-8, which would be Valpo's largest lead of the game.
• Evansville made a push, eventually getting within one on a driving layup by AJ Casey with 6:34 left in the half. Valpo scored the next five including a tip-in dunk by Hopoi that pushed the lead to seven.
• UE had a five-point burst featuring a Leif Moeller 3, and a second-chance triple by Casey before the horn made it a two-point game at half at 28-26.
• An 11-0 Evansville run early in the second half helped the Purple Aces build up a double-figure advantage at 40-30 with 16:25 remaining in regulation. The lead eventually hit 13 at 45-32 with 15:20 on the clock.
• Valpo assembled a key 9-0 run, holding UE without a point for over four minutes. After the hosts cut the lead to three at 46-43 with 10 minutes to play, the Aces finally found the well again on a 3 by Moeller that made it a six-point game. JT Pettigrew responded with a monster triple to reduce the lead back to three.
• The Pettigrew 3 sparked a 12-0 Beacon burst, reversing a six-point deficit into a six-point lead. A trey by Dease capped the run, putting Valpo ahead 55-49 with 6:55 to play. From the 14:33 mark to the 6:55 mark of the second half, Valpo outscored Evansville 21-3.
• There was still work to be done for the Beacons, as Valpo did not score for the final 4:26 of regulation, but held Evansville to four points in that stretch, the last of which came on a dunk with 1:11 left to tie the game at 58.
• Both teams missed out on chances for game-winners in a chaotic closing minute, and the game extended to overtime tied at 58.
• A dunk by Shon Tupuola (Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg [Saint Mary-of-the-Woods]) and basket by Mark Brown Jr. (South Phoenix, Ariz. / Bella Vista Prep [Snow College]) accounted for the first four points of OT. McNair had a driving layup that extended the lead to 66-60 with 1:57 left, and Dease made a turnaround jumper with 35 ticks on the clock to boost the advantage to seven at 70-63, which stood as the final.
• Valpo drilled five of its six OT field-goal attempts, while Evansville missed five of its six tries in the extra session.

Inside the Game

• Valpo picked up its sixth Missouri Valley Conference win, matching last season's league win total with seven games to spare. The Beacons are within three wins of their highest league win total since joining the MVC (nine in 2019-20).
• Valpo improved to 12-12 through 24 games, its best record at that juncture of the season since 2019-2020.
• Valpo upped its MVC mark to 6-7 (six seven!), its best league record through 13 games since 2019-2020 (also 6-7).
• The Beacons beat Evansville for the first time under head coach Roger Powell Jr., snapping a four-game skid.
• Valpo improved to 2-0 against instate conference foes this season with two games remaining.
• Valpo overcame a double-figure deficit for the second time this season and the second time in the last seven days after coming from 10 down to beat Indiana State on Jan. 31. Friday marked Valpo's sixth victory when having trailed by double figures in the Roger Powell Jr. Era.
• The 13-point rally was Valpo's largest since coming from 16 down on Feb. 22 of last season at Southern Illinois.
• The Beacons secured their 10^th home win, matching last season's home win total and tying with last season for the most home wins since 2019-20 (12) with three home dates remaining.
• This marked the first overtime matchup between the Beacons and Aces since Jan. 4, 2020, an 81-79 Valpo victory at the Ford Center.
• Valpo improved to 2-1 in overtime this season and 2-0 in MVC OT games.
• Valpo held a 44-29 rebounding advantage including 15-9 on the offensive glass, outscoring UE on second-chance points 24-5.
• Dease finished with 18 points against his hometown team. The Evansville native has scored 15 points or more in four straight games. He is 24 points away from 1,000 for his collegiate career.
• McNair tallied 16 points, his second straight game with at least that many and third straight in double figures. He has scored at least eight in six straight games.
• Tupuola squeezed 10 rebounds, his third double-figure rebounding effort of the season and first since Jan. 10 at Murray State.
• After struggling at the stripe the previous two games, Valpo went 12-of-15 for 80 percent at the line in this one.
• The Beacons were without Brody Whitaker and Isaiah Barnes due to injuries.
• McNair made his first collegiate start in his 57^th career game donning the brown and gold.
• Hopoi had 10 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes, going 4-of-4 from the floor. He became the first Valpo player to go perfect from the field with at least 10 points and seven rebounds since Derrik Smits on Feb. 13, 2019 vs. Indiana State.
• Valpo played primarily eight players with only eight seeing more than two minutes of run on Friday. The three-man bench of Hopoi (+12), Brown (+23) and freshman Sader Servilus (Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Fort Erie International Academy) at +17 all had big plus-minus numbers, while three of the five starters were in the negative with none better than +3.
• Pettigrew and Servilus had three steals apiece, while Tupuola rejected three shots.

Up Next
Valpo (12-12, 6-7 MVC) will return to the road for a Monday night game in Des Moines, Iowa as the Beacons visit Drake with a 6:30 p.m. tip. The game will air on ESPN+.