It's a special game dedicated to shedding a light on foster care. If you donate a stuffed animal at the gates you will get FREE admission to the game.
https://twitter.com/TallTastes/status/925109334039760897
Normally I think these D2 "Tune-up Games" aren't too interesting but if you remember we played Trinity last year and they actually gave us a run for our $ in the first half. Trinity was up 45-36 at the half. Valpo's guys looked like they were totally uninterested in the game in the first half and then at halftime Coach Lottich lit a fire under the guys and Valpo outscored Trinity 53-30 in the 2nd half. It would be nice to see the guys take care of business early this time. I'm sure they will.
http://www.espn.com/ncb/recap/_/gameId/400924185
VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Alec Peters poured in 36 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Valparaiso came from behind in the second half to beat NAIA-Trinity Christian College, 89-75 for its second straight win to open the season Saturday night.
The Trolls used a fast start to take an early lead. Ben Brinks' layup midway through the first half gave Trinity a 28-12 lead and held a 10-point advantage at intermission, 45-35. But the Crusaders came on strong in the second half. Shane Hammink's layup three minutes into the half cut the lead to 45-41 and Max Joseph's 3-pointer with 15:12 to play gave Valparaiso the lead, 50-48. After Hammink's dunk made it 52-50, Valparaiso never trailed again.
Peters hit 14 of his 29 shots from the floor and knocked down 3 of 11 shots from beyond the arc. Juozas Balciunas had 19 points to lead Trinity.
Trinity Roster:
No Name Yr Pos Hgt Hometown
3 Juozas Balciunas SR G 6-2 Downers Grove, IL
10 Terrance Lacey FR G 6-1 Chicago, IL
15 Nate Hurt FR G 5-9 Moline, IL
21 Christian Cantu SR G 5-9 Corpus Christi, TX
22 Caleb Jonkman SR G 6-4 Gary, IN
23 Josh Olson SO G 5-9 Kalamazoo, MI
24 Jalyn Clark FR F 6-3 South Holland, IL
30 Aaron Johnson SR G 6-1 Holland, MI
32 Ben Brinks SR C 6-8 Hudsonville, MI
34 Oleksandr Dolishniy FR G 6-4 Willow Springs, IL
35 Zack Austell SR F 6-7 Manteno, IL
40 Jared Jonkman FR F 6-3 Gary, IN
45 Josh Decker FR F 6-6 Palos Heights, IL
50 Nari Garrett SR C 6-8 Calumet City, IL
Head Coach: Brandon Nicol
Assistant Coaches: Jeff Jefferson, Christian Perry
There should be something like this for every non DI game. Great intersection of promotion and good cause. Whoever came up with this deserves a lot of credit.
Even if it is just 50% off a ticket price it would still work.