VALPARAISO, Ind. -- The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College men's basketball team traveled to NCAA Division I opponent Valparaiso on Wednesday evening (Oct. 30) for an exhibition contest and despite it being a one possession into the second half fell 93-65.
The Pomeroys will open the regular season on Friday, November 1 when they will face off against Trinity Christian (Ill.) at 5:30 p.m. (CT) in Gary, Ind., in the first game of the Redhawk Classic at IU-Northwest. On Saturday, November 2 at 1:30 p.m. (CT), the Pomeroys will take on IU-Northwest in a road contest as part of the tournament.
Shon Tupuola had a fast start to the season by hitting 6-of-7 field goals to lead the way with 13 points in 14 minutes of action. Caleb Iheukwu recorded six rebounds as SMWC pulled down 40 total rebounds. Jenkins added five assists and five rebounds in the effort.
The Pomeroys hit 27-of-68 shots from the field and were 6-of-22 from long range.
Tupuola scored first for the Pomeroys less than a minute in to take the early lead and then scored again for the 4-0 advantage on a step back jumper from Taeron Hogg a minute later. A fast break lay-up by Greg Jenkins with 15:49 remaining stretch the advantage out to 13-7.
Valpo would run their first half advantage out to seven points but the Pomeroys scored five in a row capped by a Tupuola jumper to trim the Beacon lead down to 26-24 with just under four minutes left before the break. Jenkins hit a jumper at the buzzer to send SMWC into the halftime locker room down just 33-31.
With 17:51 remaining in the game, Hogg drilled a 3-pointer for get within 40-39. Malachi Pearson drilled a triple after another Valpo run to make it 44-42 as the clock ticked under the 17 minute mark. Valpo would go on the stretch their advantage out during the remainder of the period as the Pomeroys continued to experiment with different rotations in preparation for the regular season.
