Valparaiso won’t complain about a road win against an in-state opponent.
The Crusaders topped Indiana State 69-63 on Wednesday night in Terre Haute, using strong first-half defense and withstanding a second-half rally from the Sycamores.
“At times, we played really well on both ends of the floor, and other times they were the more aggressive team,” Valparaiso coach Bryce Drew said. “They’re a good team, and any time you can win away from home, it’s big.”
E. Victor Nickerson and David Skara made key contributions, especially in the second half; Alec Peters recorded a double-double, and Darien Walker emerged from an offensive funk.
The Crusaders (8-2) again played without Tevonn Walker, who missed his third straight game with a sprained knee. They overcame foul trouble to several players, including Vashil Fernandez fouling out with 6 minutes, 15 seconds left.
Valparaiso managed to make the necessary plays to avoid a loss at least somewhat similar to the recent one at Ball State.
Peters had 15 points and 11 rebounds, playing the entire second half with three fouls.
Nickerson scored all 15 of his points in the second half, and added seven rebounds. Skara had 12 points.
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Darien Walker also had 12 points after scoring a combined eight in the previous three games.
“Darien’s been working really hard,” Drew said. “He’s had a great attitude, very energetic. It’s nice to see him make some of those drives.”
Valparaiso led by as much as 29-17 with 1:30 left in the first half. But Indiana State (3-5) used a 7-0 run to forge a 42-41 edge with 12:13 left in the second half.
Nickerson and Skara then stepped to the forefront.
Nickerson’s 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down gave the Crusaders a 51-47 lead with 7:51 left, before he hit two free throws to make it 53-49.
“He’s been playing very well,” Drew said of Nickerson, who has dealt with multiple injuries. “The more practice time he’s had, the better he’s gotten.”
Skara’s acrobatic left-handed drive with 6:40 left pushed Valparaiso’s lead to 55-49, and his 3-pointer off a kick-out from Keith Carter made it 59-51 with 4:45 left. With the score 59-54, he also broke up a Sycamore fast break, with the Crusaders getting possession.
“Getting David back has been big for our team,” Drew said. “He does so many little things well, and he scored when we needed it.”
Valparaiso put away the win by going 8-for-10 from the foul line in the final 1:44. The Crusaders shot 21-for-29 from the line in the second half.
Valparaiso led 31-21 at halftime.
Indiana State used a 10-0 run to take a 13-11 lead, before the Crusaders answered with an 11-0 run.
After falling behind, Valparaiso switched to a zone defense, which bothered the Sycamores. They missed 17 straight shots, going without a field goal from the 12:52 mark to 1:10.
Indiana State shot 5-for-27 (18.5 percent) in the first half, including 1-for-19 to close.
“Our guys had a lot of energy with it,” Drew said of the zone. “We would’ve rather played man, but they were scoring too easily. We went with a bigger lineup with Vashil (Fernandez) in the middle. We were fortunate they missed some shots and we were able to rebound.”
Twitter: @MichaelOsipoff