(St. Louis, MO) – So far so good for Missouri Valley Conference teams in the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge. Wednesday night Valley teams took three of five games between the rival conferences and hold a 5-to-3 edge heading into Saturday’s games along I-74.
There were some outstanding performances, career highs and gritty play.
No Barnes – No Problem
Indiana State went into their game with San Jose State without their all-conference guard Jordan Barnes. Coach Greg Lansing inserted Clayton Hughes who turned in a Barnes-like 23-point performance and the Sycamores won easily 86-57.
Barnes is out with a concussion. The Sycamores are now 4-1.
Smits for 20
Junior center Derrik Smits missed Valparaiso’s first two games and scored seven points in his first game back in the lineup. Since then the 7’1 junior has reached the 20 point plateau in three times in four games. Valpo defeated UNLV 72-64 and Smits recorded a double-double scoring 20 points and snagging 12 rebounds.
The Crusaders are 4-3.
Acing the Test
John Hall came up big for Evansville. The 6’7 sophomore broke out with a double-double performance (21 points, 11 rebounds) and the Purple Aces knocked off Wyoming 86-78. Hall averaged under three points per game last season and upped his current average to 12.0.
UE ran its home record to 3-0 and evened their overall record to 3-3.
Overtime Pays Off
Illinois State wasn’t a part of ‘the Challenge’ last night, but fought back from a 14-point deficit, forced overtime and defeated BYU 92-89. Phil Fayne (20 points and ten rebounds) hit clutch free throws and was one of five Redbirds to reach double-digits in scoring. Junior transfer Zach Copeland scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and contributed seven assists.
The Redbirds are 6-2. They host San Diego State in ‘the Challenge’ on Saturday.
Northern Iowa and Missouri State dropped games as part of ‘the Challenge’ and Bradley lost at IUPUI.
The Braves host New Mexico to conclude ‘the Challenge’ on Saturday.
MVC teams have gone 5-3 the last installment of this series with two to play.
So far so good.
Do Good
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Flooding, lightning strikes, etc. have cost @RacersHoops two home games. Had to play 'neutral site' tonight instead of at home and Wednesday's goes from home to away. Tough break for the Racers, and the whole area has been hit with difficulties. #FatherHarry
Murray State's scheduled home game Wednesday vs. Southern Illinois being moved to Banterra Center in Carbondale. #ValleyHoops
Gigantic game for @BradleyUMBB today in Des Moines. If they have a chance to catch @DrakeBulldogsMB, they have to win today. The Bulldogs can basically win the title today. @BustingBrackets breaks it all down. #FatherHarry https://bit.ly/3EGiVgi
Not rooting for any particular @ValleyHoops, but chaos is always fun. If things break certain ways, after today there could be a six-way tie for fifth place.
Fun to listen to @MLBLarry on the @SIU_Basketball/@BelmontMBB game tonight. Good job brother. #FatherHarry
