Valparaiso spent more time than usual in the locker room at halftime at Southern Illinois on Tuesday night.
But a poor start to the second half contributed to a 63-50 Missouri Valley loss for the Crusaders.
The Salukis (8-8, 2-1) scored the first 8 points of the second half as part of an 11-0 run to build a 40-28 lead. Valparaiso (8-8, 1-2), which didn’t score after halftime until Zion Morgan’s steal and basket with 14:45 left, put together a 10-0 surge to close to 46-43 with less than seven minutes remaining.
But the Crusaders couldn’t get over the hump in a game in which they posted their season low for points.
The final margin matched Southern Illinois’ largest lead.
Valparaiso coach Matt Lottich was disappointed with the result.
“Tough game,” he said. “We were pretty undisciplined on both sides of the ball. It showed. We got a little frustrated — it was the first time all year. It was new to our team. We just played bad.
“They were trying to play hard, and they were playing hard. But shots just weren’t going in.”
Valparaiso struggled with its shooting in every respect — 32.2% (19 of 59) from the field, including 24% (6 of 25) from 3-point range, and 42.9% (6 of 14) from the foul line.
“We didn’t make free throws,” Lottich said. “We didn’t make layups.”
Sophomore guard Javon Freeman-Liberty was the only player to reach double figures for Valparaiso, scoring 16 points. But he hit just 6 of 21 shots, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range.
SIU freshman forward Marcus Domask had a game-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting — he made his first nine shots — including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. He erupted for 21 points in the first half on 8-of-8 shooting, including five 3-pointers.
“We lost the No. 1 guy on our scouting report in the first half,” Lottich said.
“We were undisciplined in our coverages on him. Other than that last 3 he hit in the first half, we made mistakes on every single one of those coverages. … We were just messing up. He’s a good player, and good players make you mess up. But we have to be better.”
By the numbers: Senior guard/forward John Kiser had a strong all-around game. He recorded 9 points, nine rebounds and three steals, matching a career high in each category.
Freshman guard/forward Donovan Clay had a career-high nine rebounds, and junior guard Eron Gordon had a career-high four steals.
Junior forward/center Mileek McMillan, a Merrillville graduate, had 8 points. He hit 2 of 3 from 3-point range after making 3 of 4 at Evansville. He entered that game against the Purple Aces having hit 6 of 30 from 3-point range.
Up next: Valparaiso returns home to play Drake (12-4, 2-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday. With their Region-heavy roster, the Bulldogs are coming off a 65-62 win against Loyola on Tuesday.
“We just have to regroup,” Lottich said. “We have to be better than we were. Our guys want to do that. It was just one of those games.
“It’s part of the process. We did not play well, and we have to get better. These guys know that.”
