VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP)—Akeem Clark made 8-of-11 field goal attempts to finish with 23 points as IUPUI beat Valparaiso 79-67 on Monday night.
The Jaguars (9-4, 2-0 Mid-Continent Conference) took an early 19-4 lead and never let the Crusaders (4-7, 1-1) get closer than 10 points behind the rest of the way.
IUPUI extended its lead to 34-13 with 8:43 left in the first half before Valparaiso closed to within 44-33 at the break. The Jaguars opened the second half with a 14-5 run. The Crusaders closed to within 64-53 with 7:55 remaining before IUPUI put the game out of reach.
Dan Oppland and Ali Berdiel scored 14 points apiece for Valparaiso, which also got 12 points from Roberto Nieves.
Clark, coming off a 28-point performance Saturday against Western Illinois, finished 5-for-7 from 3-point range. IUPUI also got 17 points from Brandon Cole and 12 apiece from James Booyer and Johnny Miller. Matt Crenshaw had 10 points and six assists.
