The No. 11 Valparaiso Beacons advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament semifinals with a 64-63 victory over No. 3 Northern Iowa on Friday night. The Beacons got off to a slow start scoring just 5 points in the first 9 minutes but got hot quick with 10 first half three pointers that helped give them a double digit lead at the half. A 20-0 run by the Panthers in the second half brought them back into the game, but Valpo made some clutch plays down the stretch to pull out a gritty late night win in Saint Louis.
Valparaiso recovered from a furious Northern Iowa rally and pull off the biggest #ArchMadness Upset of the week.
— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) March 8, 2025
11-seed Valpo will get Bradley tomorrow in the semifinals. pic.twitter.com/ABh050aiX1
They were led by MVC Freshman of the Year All Wright with a game high 29 points along with last year's FOTY Cooper Schwieger who scored 18 points along with 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. In the first round Valpo defeated No. 6 UIC 67-50 in a contest that was controlled by the Beacons from start to finish.
In Roger Powell’s second year as head coach he now has Valparaiso in the semifinal round for the first time since 2020, and this year is looking eerily similar to then when the Beacons went from playing on the first day of the tournament to a championship game appearance.
“WE DON’T BREAK” 😤
— Valpo Basketball (@ValpoBasketball) March 8, 2025
Gritty dub to advance to the semifinals tomorrow vs Bradley and another grit award for @SchwiegerCooper ‼️
Cooper had another 5️⃣ blocks tonight anchoring the Beacons Defense 🚫#BeaconUp #SeeTheLight #EverydayGrit pic.twitter.com/KzTobwMYNg
Valpo looked good early in the season sitting at 10-6 and surpassing last season's win total in just 14 games. They went on a 3-0 run early in conference play before losing nine straight and falling to the bottom of the league.
The Beacons have been one of the most confusing teams in the MVC this season touting a poor record, but performing well against the top teams. Their resume includes another win against UNI in early January, a six point loss to Drake, a 15 point victory over Belmont, and a double overtime loss at Bradley who they will face on Saturday evening.
Valparaiso now sits just two wins away from a Missouri Valley Conference title and an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. With a top player named All Wright, a set of twins in the Schwieger brothers, a hometown kid in Tyler Schmidt who transferred in for his 5th year after scoring 2,000 points at the NAIA level, and a member of the legendary Valpo Drew family (Isaiah Shaw) all on the roster, you cannot tell me this does not scream March Cinderella story.