With the Duneland Athletic Conference title on the line against Chesterton, Valparaiso’s defense stole the show. The Trojans were held to nine field goals and zero three-pointers as Valpo won 49-27.

 

As expected, it was a grinding pace to begin. Valpo focused on feeding Indiana University football signee Cooper Jones in the post. Early on, he did not finish at a high rate, but Jones was able to frequently get his rebound or draw a foul.

 

Chesterton’s first lead came on a Tyler Vanderwoude free throw late in the first quarter. The Vikings answered right back with a Breece Walls score then Grant Comstock put back a Mason Jones miss to close the first period.

 

After Sean Elliott scored for Chesterton to open the second, Valpo rattled off ten straight points. Throughout the first half, the Trojans struggled with turnovers, and they committed four of them during the Valpo run. Cooper Jones scored six of the ten points.

 

Chesterton’s Marc Urban called a timeout with 3:01 remaining in the first half, and the Trojans increased their defensive pressure after that. Travis Grayson scored four-straight points to pull Chesterton with seven, but Cooper Jones helped bump Valpo’s lead back to ten by halftime.

 

Opening the second half, Elliott found Chris Mullen for a Chesterton layup. From there, Valpo’s defense tightened the screws even more. Chesterton was uncomfortable on every catch in the halfcourt. Although the Vikings were applying great pressure on the perimeter, Chesterton was unable to drive around them. Elliott scored at the 57-second mark of the third quarter for Chesterton’s second field goal of the frame.

 

On the other end, Valpo’s offense was not lighting up the scoreboard, but the difference was turnovers. For the game, the Trojans committed 15 turnovers compared to eight from the Vikings. Each team had 48 possessions, which means Chesterton ended its possession with a turnover 31 percent of the time. That sabotaged Chesterton’s chances.

 

In the third, Walls drove past Chesterton defenders for a couple of easy scores. Then, he was joined by Colton Jones doing the same in the fourth quarter. With their slashing scores, Walls and Jones put the game away.

 

Valpo’s dominant defensive performance pushed them to the 49-27 victory. With the win, Valparaiso won the 2021 Duneland Athletic Conference title.

 

As a team, Chesterton was 9-34 from two and 0-11 from the three-point line.

 

Colton Jones led Valpo with 12 points. Walls added 11 points and five assists; Cooper Jones tallied nine points and nine rebounds, and Mason Jones collected eight points and five rebounds; Grant Comstock recorded five points and four rebounds.

 

Chesterton was led by Grayson’s 13 points, but it was an off night for the junior guard. He was 4-15 from the field with six turnovers. Throughout the game, Valpo never allowed him to get an easy look. Mullen added five points and nine rebounds.

 

Valpo improved to 16-4, while Chesterton drops to 16-4.