The 2026-2027 Valparaiso University men's basketball team took the court in a game situation for the first time as a group, defeating defending Canadian national champion Carleton 66-54 in international exhibition action on Monday as part of the Baha Mar Summer League in Nassau, The Bahamas.  
 
How It Happened

• The Beacons raced out to a 6-0 lead on early made triples by Sader Servilus (Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Fort Erie International) and Justus McNair (Joliet, Ill. / Joliet West).
• Sophomore Carter Hopoi (Tauranga, New Zealand / Mount Maunganui College) threw down his first dunk of the game on a tip-in at the 12:46 mark of the first half, boosting the Beacon cushion to 10 at 16-6.
• The Valpo lead was four at 19-15 with 8:48 left in the first half, then the Beacons went on an 11-0 run to build the lead to 15 at 30-15. Servilus hit his second 3 of the game to ignite the big burst.
• A block on one end led to a McNair layup on the other end to build the lead to 19 with 15:56 to play, then Hopoi got a steal and his second dunk to widen the gap to 21.
• Senior Dylan Moles (Greenfield, Ind. / Greenfield Central [Marian]) lifted the lead to 22 at 53-31 with 13:14 to play by swishing one in from distance.
• The Ravens made a bit of a run late to cut what had been a 22-point lead to 10, creating a game that was not as close as the final 12-point margin would indicate.

Inside the Game

• Valpo started its five returning scholarship letterwinners.
• A dozen Beacons saw action in the game. All seven players who came off the bench saw their first game action in a Valpo uniform.
• Sophomore JT Pettigrew (Lisle, Ill. / Bolingbrook) shared the team lead with 11 points and pulled down a team-best-tying seven rebounds. He scored nine of his 11 points after halftime.
• McNair went 5-of-7 from the field to total 11 points while also contributing five rebounds.
• Redshirt freshman Kobe Walker (Normal, Ill. / Normal Community) squeezed seven rebounds in only 10 minutes of action to tie for the team lead.
• Sophomore Rakim Chaney (Rockford, Ill. / Rockford Auburn [212 Sports Academy]) was Valpo's third double-figure scorer with 10 points along with a team-best four assists. He led the team in plus-minus at +13.
• Sophomore Terron Garrett (St. Louis, Mo. / Vashon [Mineral Area College]) swiped a team-high four steals.
• The Beacons had 12 steals contributing to 21 turnovers by the Ravens.
• Valpo blocked eight shots in the game.

Inside the Foreign Tour

• Valpo improved to 12-1 all-time in preseason Foreign Tour games.
• This marked the third all-time matchup between Valpo and Carleton. The Brown & Gold previously prevailed 83-80 in overtime on a buzzer-beater by Daniel Sackey on Aug. 13, 2019 and lost 77-59 on Aug. 13, 2015, with this marking by far Valpo's best result against the Ravens.
• Carleton is the defending Canadian national collegiate champion. The Ravens went 27-9 overall and 17-5 in league play en route to the program's 18^th Canadian national crown.  
• Valpo is one of six NCAA Division-I programs playing against international competition in Nassau, The Bahamas this week as part of the Baha Mar Summer League. The Beacons are joined by Arkansas, Cincinnati, Louisville, South Carolina and Texas A&M.
• The Beacons arrived in Nassau on Saturday and hosted a community service event with local youth on Sunday in Nassau.
• Valpo previously played at Baha Mar as part of a regular-season, multi-team event in November 2021, beating Jacksonville State and Tulane but falling to Coastal Carolina.
• This marked the first summer exhibition game as part of a Foreign Tour of the Roger Powell Jr. head coaching era. Valpo's last Summer Tour took place in August 2019, when the team went to Canada.
• This marks Valpo's fourth all-time Foreign Tour, joining Cancun (2010-11) and Canada (2015-16 and 2019-20). The 2010-11 trip preceded a 23-win campaign that culminated in a postseason berth, the 2015-16 led into a 30-win season and an appearance in the Postseason NIT title game at Madison Square Garden. The 2019-20 season was also a memorable one, as Valpo won 19 games, made it to the title game of the MVC Tournament and earned a postseason berth before all postseason tournaments were canceled due to COVID-19.  

Up Next
Valpo will play for a second consecutive day as the Beacons face off with Dalhousie University (Canada) at 6:30 p.m. CT / 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday night in Nassau, The Bahamas. The game will be broadcast on FloCollege with links to live video and stats available on ValpoAthletics.com.