>>Valpraiso's Buzzer Beater Downs ISU
Markus Golder put up a leaping, one-handed shot from half court , the ball snapping through the net at the buzzer as Valparaiso completed a wild last-minute comeback to defeat Illinois State 58-56 in a Missouri Valley Conference opener Wednesday night.
Golder finished with 10 points and all seven of his second-half points came in the final 1:15 as the Crusaders (8-6, 1-0) rallied, outscoring Illinois State 12-2 over that span. The Redbirds (7-7, 0-1) held a 54-53 lead and had leading scorer Zach Copeland at the line with two seconds remaining.
Copeland missed both free throws with Golder rebounding, sprinting up court in a crowd and putting up the winner.
Ryan Fazekas led Valparaiso with 14 points and Derrik Smits added 10 with nine rebounds.
Copeland scored 21 points with five 3-pointers to lead Illinois State and Phil Fayne added 14 points.
Breaking away from a 26-26 halftime tie, Illinois State opened the final period on a 12-1 run and held the lead up until Golder’s half-court buzzer-beater.
>>Northern Iowa Gets By Bradley
Trae Berhow scored 14 points with four 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds and Northern Iowa beat Bradley 65-47 in Wednesday night's Missouri Valley Conference opener.
Isaiah Brown also scored 14 points and AJ Green added 10 points and made four assists for the Panthers (6-8), who held Bradley to 38-percent shooting and are now 32-30 all-time against the Braves. Justin Dahl grabbed eight rebounds.
Nate Kennell's 3 tied it at 20, but Dahl hit back-to-back jumpers in a 14-2 run and the Panthers led 34-24 at halftime. Berhow scored eight in a 12-8 run and Isiah Brown scored all seven in a 7-2 run for a 55-36 Northern Iowa lead with 5:44 to go.
Elijah Childs scored 12 points and Kennell added 11 for the Braves (8-6) who shot just 37.5 percent (18 of 48) from the floor including 5 of 17 (29.4) from 3-point range.