Wednesday Night Showdown: Indiana State Takes on Valparaiso!

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Indiana State travels to northern Indiana on Wednesday evening to compete against the Valparaiso Beacons at 8 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.

Wednesday evening’s encounter marks the 96th contest between Indiana State and Valparaiso. Indiana State currently leads the series 59-37, and holds a record of 27-21 when playing in Valparaiso. The Sycamores have triumphed in four consecutive games against the Beacons.

 

In their most recent game, the Indiana State men’s basketball team recorded a victory on Saturday afternoon with a road win over the Evansville Purple Aces. Jaden Daughtry came off the bench to guide the Sycamores with a game-best 26 points on 9-for-17 shooting in 24 minutes. The sophomore was perfect from the charity stripe, hitting 8-for-8. He was the only Sycamore player to reach double digits, although Aaron Gray, Jahni Summers, and Samage Teel all contributed eight points each. Teel led the team in rebounds (five), assists (seven), and steals (three). The Sycamores made all six free throws in the final minute to seal the game, despite going the last 2:48 without a field goal, while also limiting Evansville to just one field goal within the last 4:40 of the contest. Indiana State amassed 16 points in the concluding 9:15 of the game, achieving eight points from field goals and the rest from the free throw line.

Valparaiso recently celebrated an 80-73 home victory against preseason No. 2. Northern Iowa on Saturday. Jefferson Da La Cruz Monegro spearheaded the team with 20 points, while Tyler Schmidt added 15. Valpo maintained the lead for the last 35 minutes of the contest.

Jaden Daughtry leads the Sycamores in scoring over the last five games, averaging 17.2 points per game. He achieved a career-high of 25 points on December 29 at Ohio State, followed by another career-high of 26 points two games later at Evansville. The sophomore boasts a shooting percentage of 60.9% from the field during the last five matches, coupled with a 30-for-40 success rate at the free throw line.

Samage Teel is averaging 16.8 points per game over the past five contests and continues to lead the team for the season with 17.1 points per game. Teel is joined by Markus Harding (52.0%), K’mani Doughty (50.0%), and Jahni Summers (50.0%) rounding out a group of five Sycamores shooting 50% or better from the field in the last five games (minimum 20 field goal attempts).

Coach Graves and his staff seem to have identified their starting rotation, as the Sycamores deployed the same starting five in each of the last five games: Samage Teel, Camp Wagner, K’mani Doughty, Bruno Alocen, and Markus Harding.

 

Following Wednesday’s game, Indiana State will return home on Saturday, January 11 to host Belmont at 1 p.m. ET. During the game, Indiana State will recognize its Hall of Fame inductees. The 2024 Hall of Fame Class includes Dr. Daniel Bradley (President), Mike Eberle (Baseball), John Gartland (Cross Country/Track & Field), Kelsey Luna (Women’s Basketball), and Peter Magnusson (Men’s Tennis).

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