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Bench production was the big story of the afternoon as Valparaiso held a 51-13 advantage in bench scoring as the Beacons beat Eastern Illinois 81-53 on Sunday afternoon.
Valpo built an early lead before EIU had its best run of the game sparked by bench production for the Panthers by
Blake Goodman. Goodman scored all five of his points as part of a 12-0 run which gave EIU a 20-19 lead midway through the first half.
Valpo led 35-29 at the half going 14-of-15 from the foul line. Tyler Schmidt had 14 first half points off the bench including 7-of-7 from the foul line. Schmidt led Valpo with 19 points off the bench for the game.
In the second half it was the bench production of Justus McNair that lifted the Beacons during an extended 19-4 run early in the half giving Valpo a 57-38 lead. McNair hit three 3-pointers during the run finishing with 16 points.
EIU had two players score in double figures led by
Nakyel Shelton with 20 points.Â
Kooper Jacobi had 13 points, all in the first half, and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.
EIU falls to 1-5 on the season. Valpo is now 3-2.Â
Lazar Grbovic and
Terry McMorris both had four points off the bench late in the game.