MVC basketball: Valley wins four straight

The last one was a non-conference contest Monday at William Woods, 82-67, the Vikings' fourth victory in a row. It was a seesaw affair, with Valley closing strong to pull it out.

The Vikings began the game with a 9-0 run, and was still in front by nine points with 14 minutes left in the first half. However, the Owls took the lead with a 14-2 spree, Valley eventually going into the break with a 36-34 edge.

William Woods used a 14-1 stretch early in the second half, but over the final 16 minutes the Vikings out-scored the home team 41-21 to walk away. Valley shot 18 of 28 from the free-throw line during the second half, while the Owls (1-4) had only seven attempts all game.

Junior Dan Anderson had 20 points on seven-of-19 shooting, including five of 14 beyond the arc, to pace William Woods.

The Vikings (4-1) had four players in double figures, topped by senior Roc Rogers' 20 points. Senior Rouven Haenig added 15 points and 13 rebounds and senior Bryant Porter tallied 16 points and dished out seven assists.

Over the weekend Valley played in the St. Ambrose Classic at Davenport, Iowa, defeating the host Fighting Bees in Friday's opener, 70-52. The Vikings led by 15 points at the break and weren't threatened.

Senior J.D. Devault came off the bench to lead Valley with 13 points, while Haenig recorded 10 points and 10 boards.

St. Ambrose (1-1) got 14 points from junior Justin Tiner, but was hurt by 35.7-percent shooting from the field -- including two of 18 from three-point range.

St. Francis (Ill.) battled down the wire Saturday before the Vikings held on, 69-65.

There were seven lead changes and eight tied scores during the first half, and that was merely a prelude. Senior Tristan Therkield knocked down a pair of three-pointers during a 15-4 second-half run which put the Fighting Saints seven points ahead with 11:45 remaining.

It took less than two minutes for Valley to erase that deficit, Porter sinking an outside jumper and two free throws and junior Alonzo Louis making a lay-up.

The Vikings were down a point before Devault hit two charity shots with 6:09 left, and they never trailed again. While St. Francis missed five straight shots from the field, plus the front end of a one-and-one from the line, Valley got buckets by Haenig and Rogers to expand the margin to six points with 1:28 to go.

Although Therkield hit another three, the Vikings were four of six from the stripe during the final minute to hold off the charge.

The Fighting Saints (1-5) were topped by sophomore Bruce Watson's 20 points and seven rebounds.

Rogers had 17 points and eight boards and Haenig added 13 points and seven rebounds for Valley.

The Vikings are coming up on their third straight tournament weekend, playing Friday and Saturday in the Trinity International Classic at Chicago.