The noise level at the Athletics-Recreation Center was at midseason form. The gym sounded like an Oral Roberts game in November.
Valpo got everything it bargained for — and much more — from Huntington College, an NAIA school that is ranked No. 3 in the nation.
The Crusaders had to exert every ounce of energy and reserve Saturday to muster a 73-69 exhibition win over the Foresters.
After trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Crusaders had to dig deep in the second half.
They didn’t completely crawl out of their hole until Jimmy Miles stole the ball and scored on a layup with 1:14 left, giving Valpo a 68-66 lead.
But Alex Bontrager answered for the Foresters with a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left gave them a 70-69 lead.
Dan Oppland, who finished with 23 points and nine rebounds, gave the Crusaders the lead for good with an 8-foot hook shot that rolled around and dropped through with 20 seconds left. Ali Berdiel, who finished with 11 points and five assists, sealed the victory with a steal with seven seconds left.
Berdiel said the game was a great wakeup call for the young Crusaders. Indeed, Valpo coach Homer Drew wanted his four freshmen to get double-digit minutes. Only Shawn Huff, who played for 11 minutes, made it. The game was too close for Drew to use all of them that long.
“This was a great team,” Berdiel said. “We didn’t expect them to be that good. They hit everything they threw up in the first half.”
The Foresters made 15 of 27 shots from the floor in the first 20 minutes — including 2 of 4 3-pointers. Valpo struggled from the floor, only making 10 of 27 shots.
Valpo outscored Huntington 11-2 in the first five minutes of the second half to get back in the game.
From there, it was a dog fight — one that Oppland admitted his team wasn’t quite ready for.
“Those guys were really intense and very good,” Oppland said. “At one point in the second half, I was just dying. They fought really hard.”
Berdiel called the game a good “reality check of where we stand. We thought we were playing pretty good in practice. This team showed us where we stand.”
The Crusaders will find out where they stand again next Saturday when they play Wisconsin-Falls at the ARC.
Valpo opens its season Nov. 19 at Cincinnati. Miles was the other double figure scorer for Valpo. He finished with 10 points and three assists.
Bontreger led Huntington with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Mike Hutton can be reached at 648-3139 or by e-mail at mhutton@post-trib.com.
I saw coach Hunter hangin out at churches chicken last night. i walked up to him and he proceeded to smack his lips and lick his fingers and garble something about playing defense and hot wings. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said that if his team ever lost again he would have to buy a franchise of KFC so that he wouldn't be depressed.
Naw, j/k. But seriously though. Why is yall coach always looking like he came from a buffet line after church on sunday?
