In a game that refused to follow the script until the final horn, Valparaiso summoned every ounce of resilience it had left to stave off elimination and deliver a heart-stopping 63-62 victory over Indiana State in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
The Beacons (18-14) erased an eight-point deficit in the final four minutes, capped by a go-ahead free throw from redshirt senior forward Owen Dease with 1:17 remaining, to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal against No. 2 seed Bradley. It marks Valparaiso’s highest win total since the 24-victory season of 2016-17 and keeps alive a program that has quietly rebuilt itself into an MVC contender.
Indiana State’s season ended at 11-20, a frustrating conclusion for a Sycamores squad that entered Arch Madness riding momentum from a 79-63 drubbing of UIC in which it drained a season-high 14 three-pointers. On this night, however, the shots stopped falling. ISU missed its final seven attempts after taking a 58-48 lead on Camp Wagner’s three with 8:06 to play. The Sycamores’ last field goal came at the 4:34 mark.
The decisive sequence belonged to Valparaiso’s bench and its poise at the line. Freshman guard Sader Servilus, who entered averaging modest minutes, provided the spark off the pine with five of his seven points during an 8-0 closing run, including a dagger three-pointer that knotted the score at 62-62 with 2:34 left. The Beacons then converted 12 of 18 free throws in the second half to Indiana State’s 2 of 3.
Freshman guard Rakim Chaney led all scorers with 18 points, burying four three-pointers to match his season high and scoring six of Valpo’s first points in a game that saw the Beacons trail by as many as eight early. Chaney has now reached double figures in 13 games this season, including seven of the last eight.
Freshman forward JT Pettigrew added 14 points — 12 coming after intermission — and a team-high seven rebounds. Dease, who averaged 14.5 points in the two previous meetings with Indiana State this season (both Valpo wins), chipped in five points to reach 400 for the year.
For Indiana State, junior guard Camp Wagner finished with a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds, his 21st double-digit scoring effort of the season. Graduate forward Ian Scott added 12 points and a game-high four blocks, while junior guard Enel St. Bernard delivered a perfect 5-for-5 night from the floor — including three thunderous dunks — for 10 points and a season-best four steals.
The first half belonged to the Sycamores. After Valparaiso rallied from an early 16-8 hole to tie it at 18-18, Indiana State answered with a 19-6 surge, shooting 57.1 percent during the stretch to take a 37-29 lead into the locker room. ISU connected on 55.2 percent (16-of-29) overall in the opening 20 minutes, while Valpo managed just 37.9 percent (11-of-29).
Yet the Beacons’ second-half resolve proved decisive. They improved dramatically at the charity stripe and forced Indiana State into a prolonged scoring drought that ultimately decided the outcome.
Valparaiso improves to 8-8 all-time in the MVC Tournament and 2-0 against the Sycamores in the event, though Indiana State still holds a commanding 60-41 edge in the all-time series. The No. 7 seed’s victory keeps alive the underdog narrative in a league where lower seeds have historically struggled — No. 7s now sit at 25-48 all-time in the MVC Tournament, No. 10s at 10-30.
For the Beacons, it’s another step forward in a season of steady progress. For Indiana State, it’s the end of a campaign that promised more but ultimately fell short in the moments that mattered most.
Friday’s quarterfinal against Bradley awaits. Valparaiso has earned the right to keep fighting.
