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GAME NOTES: The Valparaiso Crusaders go head-to-head with the Youngstown State Penguins tonight in a Horizon League bout at the Beeghly Center.

Valpo is playing its fifth game in 10 days and the team has held up pretty well during this stretch. The Crusaders are 7-3 over their last 10 games, although they are coming off an 80-71 setback at Cleveland State on Thursday. The loss ended a short two-game win streak and dropped the club to 13-14 overall and 8-7 within the conference.

On the other hand, YSU continues to struggles and has fallen in four straight and eight of its last nine outings. On Thursday, the Penguins gave nationally- ranked Butler a game, but came up short, 68-57, in the end. With the defeat, YSU is now just 8-16 overall and a far worse 2-12 in the HL.

As for the all-time series, Valpo enjoys a 21-7 advantage over YSU and that includes a 5-0 record since it joined the HL.

Valpo went a miserable 12-of-21 at the foul line compared to a 26-of-28 effort by Cleveland State, as it was defeated 80-71 on Thursday. The Crusaders also had 13 giveaways and those turnovers resulted in 22 points for the Vikings. Brandon McPherson guided Valpo in the loss with 17 points, while Brandon Wood had 14 and a pair of steals. Wood, leads the Crusaders in scoring with a solid 18.4 ppg and he is a 39.0 percent three-point shooter. Cory Johnson puts forth 15.1 ppg and a team-high 6.0 rpg for Valpo, while McPherson chips in with 11.8 ppg.

YSU made just 40.4 percent of its field-goal tries in comparison to a 56.1 percent shooting performance by Butler, as it was topped 68-57 on Thursday. The Penguins also struggled at the foul line (12-of-20) and were completely dominated on the glass, 31-20, as well. DeAndre Mays scored 18 points to lead the Penguins, while Vytas Sulskis posted 14 points. For the season, Mays leads YSU in the scoring department with 14.2 ppg and he also has 24 steals to his name. Sirlester Martin logs 10.9 ppg and a team-best 5.5 rpg, and Sulskis tacks on 10.5 ppg.

The Crusaders are the better team and should be able to outlast YSU tonight.