Valparaiso 62, Wright State 54
Valparaiso survived a shaky second half to beat Wright State 62-54 in the Horizon League tournament's championship game Tuesday night.
The top-seeded Crusaders (26-7) made a season-high 24 turnovers, 14 of them over the final 20 minutes, but closed the game on an 18-4 run to secure their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2004.
The third-seeded Raiders (21-12) overcame an 11-point halftime deficit and took a 50-44 lead with just under six minutes left.
However, they went over five minutes without a field goal after that. The Crusaders, who had the advantage of playing on their home court by virtue of their first-place finish in the regular season, went on a 16-0 run to regain command.
Valparaiso shot 53.8 percent from the field to Wright State's 38.9 percent and won the rebounding battle 25-21, but those advantages were negated by the turnover problems.
The Crusaders were minus-13 in turnovers for the game and minus-8 in the second half.
Erik Buggs scored a game-high 22 points to lead Valpo, which also got 14 points from Will Bogan, and 10 points and 10 rebounds from Kevin Van Wijk.
Reggie Arceneaux (14 points) was the only Wright State player to score in double figures.
