Alec Peters helped Valparaiso overcome a slow start Saturday in its Horizon League game at Cleveland State.
The star senior had 30 points and nine rebounds as the Crusaders topped the Vikings 78-67, completing a sweep of their two-game road trip to Ohio after trailing by 12 points in the first half.
Peters needs 27 points and 16 rebounds to break Valparaiso’s career records in both categories, passing Bryce Drew and Chris Ensminger, respectively. He also moved into fifth on the conference’s career scoring list.
Crusaders coach Matt Lottich continues to be impressed.
“He hit a lot of big shots and we expect him to do that,” Lottich said. “We try to put him in good positions and our guards did a great job. And when they ran two and three guys at him, we made them pay.”
Peters shot 9-for-17 and an uncharacteristic 10-for-13 from the foul line, where the Crusaders (14-4, 4-1) converted 86.5 percent (32-for-37). He fell one rebound short of his ninth straight double-double, but that clearly was just a footnote.
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Cleveland State (5-13, 1-5) jumped out to a 16-4 lead eight minutes into the game, with Valparaiso shooting 1-for-11.
But the Crusaders clamped down defensively, holding the Vikings without a basket for the last 5:07 of the first half.
Valparaiso used a 10-0 run to take a 32-27 lead, with Peters scoring the last eight points of that surge. His 3-pointer with 4:03 left in the half tied the score at 27-27, and his free throw with 3:08 left gave the Crusaders their first lead.
“We got moving downhill,” Lottich said. “In the beginning, we were tentative against their pressure; after that, we attacked. We got some confidence.
“We got back to who we are — we got stops, got on the break, rebounded well.”
The Crusaders, who outrebounded the Vikings 43-25, extended their advantage to as many as 17 points in the second half. Cleveland State drew to 68-64, but Shane Hammink answered with a basket with 3:07 left.
Valparaiso pulled away in the waning minutes, including Peters making two free throws with 1:56 left after he was intentionally fouled, to win its sixth straight game in the series.
“We closed pretty well,” Lottich said. “They have good players, and sometimes when you’re playing with a lead like that, it’s tough. You don’t want to be tentative, but you don’t want to be too aggressive. But I never felt we lost control.”
Tevonn Walker had 14 points, including shooting 10-for-10 from the line, and nine rebounds. Hammink added 11 points. Derrik Smits had nine points, all in the second half, and five rebounds.
Valparaiso wraps up a stretch of three games in five days Monday when it plays Green Bay (11-6, 5-0) at the Athletics-Recreation Center. The Phoenix are the last undefeated team in conference play.
“It’s a big game and we’re looking forward to it,” Lottich said. “We know they’re undefeated, we’re not trying to hide from it. If we want to win the league, we have to win games like this at home.”
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