Valparaiso 80, Youngstown St. 71

By foxsports
Published

Brandon Wood had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead Valparaiso past Youngstown State 80-71 Tuesday night in the first round of the Horizon League tournament.

Valparaiso, the league's No. 4 seed, will play Detroit on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Horizon tournament in Milwaukee.

The Crusaders (22-10) built a 63-44 lead, but the ninth-seeded Penguins nearly pulled off a big comeback. Kendrick Perry's basket with 2:47 left cut Valparaiso's lead to 71-70, but Wood made a pair of field goals and three free throws down the stretch for the Crusaders.

Cory Johnson had 15 points and Howard Little scored 14 for Valparaiso.

Damian Eargle had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Penguins (9-20). Perry finished with 16 points.