Valparaiso pulls late to down Southeastern in Savannah Invite

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Southeastern Louisiana hung with Valparaiso for the first 30 minutes in the opening game of the Savannah Invitational Sunday afternoon.

The Lions were within 42-38 after a layup by senior guard Eddy Polanco with 13:37 remaining. It was still 46-40 after two free throws by senior forward Jordan Capps at the 11:05 mark. But the Crusaders went on a 37-10 run over the final 9:52, holding Southeastern to one field goal, to pull away to an 83-50 victory.

Junior forward Moses Greenwood led Southeastern (1-3) with 11 points and seven rebounds. Polanco added 10 points and five boards. The Lions shot 32.7 percent (17-of-52) and grabbed 32 rebounds but were just 1-of-16 (6.7 percent) on 3-pointers and tied a season high with 21 turnovers.

Joe Burton had a game-high 18 points for Valparaiso (4-0). Bakari Evelyn contributed 14 while Derrik Smits had 12 points and six rebounds. The Crusaders shot 55.2 percent (32-of-58) and had 33 rebounds.

Valparaiso took a 32-22 lead at the half and extended it to 12 on a jumper by Tevonn Walker with 18:04 remaining. Southeastern rallied with a 14-6 run over the next 4:27. Polanco knocked the lead down to 42-36 with 14:38 left before his coast to coast layup with 13:37 left.

Jaume Sorolla scored off a pass from Max Joseph to build the lead back to 46-38 with 12:13 remaining. But a Polanco layup and Capps’s free throws cut the margin to six with 11:05 left.

Markus Golder started a 20-6 run for the Crusaders with a dunk off a pass from Smits. Southeastern’s only points over the stretch came on free throws by Greenwood, senior guard Jabbar Singleton and junior guard Marlain Veal. Burton tipped in a miss by Evelyn to give Valparaiso a 68-46 lead with 4:25 remaining. Senior forward hit a jumper for the Lions’ final field goal at the 4:02 mark.

   Southeastern forced turnovers on Valparaiso’s first three possessions in jumping out to a 6-0 lead on a short Greenwood jumper at the 17:24 mark. The Crusaders answered with seven straight points, taking their first lead on an Evelyn layup with 13:43 left.

.  The Lions regained the lead at 10-9 on two Polanco free throws with 10:48 remaining in the half. After an Evelyn 3 put Valparaiso ahead 18-14, Veal hit a jumper to make it a two-point game with 4:57 left. But the Crusaders responded with a 8-0 run to take a 26-16 lead on a Burton layup at the 2:48 mark. A three-point play by Veal made it 26-19. But Smits grabbed a steal and fed Burton for a layup before scoring on a putback at the buzzer to give Valparaiso a 32-22 halftime lead.

NOTES:

Polanco missed his first free throws of the season after making 19 straight. He finished 3-of-5 on free throws.

Valparaiso, which came in leading the country in free throw attempts, did not shoot one until the 11:22 mark of the second half. The Crusaders finished 9-of-10 from the line.

QUOTES:

   Southeastern head coach Jay Ladner:

   “You have to give them credit, first of all. They are an outstanding team, very well-coached, huge. But I thought our guys fought tooth and nail. With 12 minutes left, it was anybody’s game. I don’t know at that point when they came down and hit a couple of 3s and it stretched the lead real quick, if that broke our back. I have to go back and look at the film to see kind of see what went on right there. I was disappointed with the way the game ended but I don’t think anybody would think that was indicative of how the game was played.”

UP NEXT:     

Southeastern continues play in the tournament at Kent State Tuesday at 6 p.m. (Central Time).

BOX SCORE

Valparaiso 83, Southeastern La. 50

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (1-3)

Greenwood, Moses 5-13 1-3 11; Polanco, Eddy 3-8 3-5 10; Veal, Marlain 2-6 4-5 8; Currington, James 3-8 1-4 7; Singleton, Jabbar 2-7 2-2 6; Charleston, Keith 1-2 2-2 4; Capps, Jordan 0-5 2-2 2; Gonzalez, Brandon 1-1 0-0 2; West, D’Angelo 0-1 0-0 0; Thomas, Quinton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-52 15-23 50.

VALPARAISO (4-0)

Burton, Joe 8-11 0-0 18; Evelyn, Bakari 4-8 4-4 14; Smits, Derrik 6-6 0-0 12; Golder, Markus 3-5 2-2 8; Bradford, Micah 2-5 2-2 8; Walker, Tevonn 3-9 0-0 7; Kiser, John 2-2 0-0 6; McMillan, Mileek 2-3 0-0 5; Joseph, Max 1-5 0-0 2; Sorolla, Jaume 1-3 0-0 2; Linssen, Marten 0-0 1-2 1; Hazen, Parker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-58 9-10 83.

Southeastern Louisiana……..   22   28  –   50

Valparaiso………………..   32   51  –   83

3-point goals–Southeastern Louisiana 1-15 (Polanco, Eddy 1-4; Currington, James 0-1; Singleton, Jabbar 0-4; Charleston, Keith 0-1; Capps, Jordan 0-1; West, D’Angelo 0-1; Thomas, Quinton 0-1; Greenwood, Moses 0-2), Valparaiso 10-28 (Kiser, John 2-2; Evelyn, Bakari 2-5; Burton, Joe 2-5; Bradford, Micah 2-5; Walker, Tevonn 1-5; McMillan, Mileek 1-1; Hazen, Parker 0-1; Joseph, Max 0-2; Golder, Markus 0-2). Fouled out–Southeastern Louisiana-None, Valparaiso-None. Rebounds–Southeastern Louisiana 32 (Greenwood, Moses 7),

Valparaiso 33 (Smits, Derrik 6). Assists–Southeastern Louisiana 7 (Charleston, Keith 4), Valparaiso 19 (Evelyn, Bakari 4). Total fouls–Southeastern Louisiana 13, Valparaiso 20. Technical fouls–Southeastern Louisiana-None, Valparaiso-None. A-2651