After the first 20 minutes of the V.U. Crusaders vs IU South Bend Titans game, I sat wondering how was it even remotely possible that the Crusaders came within 11 points of 6th Ranked North Carolina only a few days earlier? They were missing shots, they were sluggish, they were out rebounded, outplayed, & out scored in every area of the game. (Let's give some credit to the Titans).
In my previous years of watching Valpo play, they had times as a slow starting 2nd half team. After a 10-4 spurt, the Crusaders were down 43-34 and I was thinking "uh-oh". During a time out, I turned to the friends behind me and my wife and said "McPherson is a 5th Year Senior, he needs to step up & take control of this game and team with leadership" .....and he did!!!
Valpo went on a 21-0 run! It all started with Howard Little and Eric Buggs defense to start the 2nd half ! This combined with one of the most impressive 3 point shooting bonanza I have ever seen by Brandon McPherson. Having season tickets in the front row, it was an absolute treat to see him right in front of me knocking down 3pointers... 4 in a row! It was as though the basket was 10ft wide:) Whatever he threw-up, WENT IN! Brandon ended the game with a career high of 25pts.
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Valpo won the game final score = 78-56.
This is a young team and there are 2 players that, in my opinion, will need to step it up and be the Leaders - McPherson and Little. Both these guys are very solid players and with their leadership and hard play as examples, Valpo may just have a pretty good year !
Editorial By Jeff Safrin
Thanks for stopping by and reading our Blog about Life in NW Indiana, The Housing Market, Communities, Local Sports, Events, attractions & more @ NorthWestIndianaRealEstateBlog.com
Sincerely,
Jeff & Grace Safrin, Broker / Owners
F.C.Tucker 1st Team Real Estate - Independently Owned & Operated
13 Lincolnway Suite # 203, Valparaiso, IN 46383 Office # 219-309-9930
Jeff did a post????? Howdy Jeff! We can see your COACHING SPIRIT at work. Best wishes for a continual good year in BOTH TEAMS... Valpo AND Tucker!
This game shouldn't have even been this close. They played a nice game against NC to only look mediocre against the Titans. Let's see how the team gels over the holidays.
Hi Diane - Yes - Jeff does the sports editorials lol - I just enjoy taking the photos and talking with everyone at the game - and I do enjoy cheering the team on to win :) GO VU !
Hi James - they were down by 3 at half time and we were surprised - but the second half they came out ON fire! and it was a joy to see the run for the win. Since many are new - it will be a building year for them to gel...but the potential is there for sure!
thanks to both of you for taking time to stop by and comment.
Sincerely,
Grace