On a night when everyone else in the game was cold, the Valparaiso combo of All Wright and Cooper Schwieger put on a show, leading the Beacons (13-20) to a 67-50 win against UIC (17-14) in the fourth game of first-round action at the 2025 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday night at Enterprise Center.
Avenging Sunday’s 77-73 loss at UIC, Valparaiso advances to the Arch Madness quarterfinals and an 8:30 pm matchup Friday against No. 3 seed UNI (20-11) after earning the only upset during Thursday’s opening round of action.
The MVC Freshman of the Year, Wright moved up three spots on the league’s all-time freshman scoring list by pouring in 22 points Thursday night. Now eighth in Valley history with 473 points, Wright passed Wichita State’s Cliff Levingston (457), Illinois State’s Tarise Bryson (465) and Tulsa’s Shea Seals (470) on the league’s freshman scoring list with Loyola Chicago’s Milton Doyle (478) clearly in sight Friday night.
And coming off the only 30-points, 15-rebounds, 5-assists game in Division I basketball this season when he put up 33 points, 18 rebounds and five assists Sunday against UIC, Schwieger followed with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots Thursday, the latter tying for the third-best single-game total in MVC Tournament history.
While the Valpo stars combined for 39 points on 17-for-26 (.654) shooting from the field, UIC managed just 50 points on a 17-for-57 (.298) shooting effort. Wright was 9-for-16 from the floor, including a 3-for-6 effort from 3-point range, and Schwieger made 8-of-10 field goal attempts.
UIC’s Ethan Pickett was the game’s only other double-digit scorer, leading the Flames with 11 points.
Both teams started cold, combining for a 3-for-15 (.200) shooting effort into the first media timeout at 14:59 left in the period. Valparaiso benefited from a pair of triples during that cold open, however, for an early, 6-2 lead. UIC’s cold start continued through the third break (5-for-19, .263), but Valpo was unable to take full advantage and never led by more than five points until All Wright drained consecutive 3-pointers for a 25-15 lead with 5:18 left in the half. Meanwhile, Schweiger heated up late in the half, scoring 10 of his first-half-leading 15 points in the final 6:36 of the period as the Beacons closed the period on a 19-6 surge.
Schwieger and Wright combined to make 12-of-17 (.706) field goal attempts in the first half, combining for 27 of their team’s 37 first-half points, while everyone else to play in the game for both teams combined for 31 points on 11-for-45 (.244) shooting.
UIC appeared to gain a spark when Tyem Freeman stole an inbounds pass and sank a corner triple while tumbling to the ground for what the crowd believed would be a 4-point play opportunity. The basket was waived off, however, as Freeman was called for an offensive foul for sticking his leg out on the shot, leaving the Flames in a 39-24 hole with 17:54 left in the game. Valparaiso then stretched the lead to 41-24 on a Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro pull-up jumper on the ensuing possession and the Flames never threatened the rest of the way.
