Saturday, November 22nd, 8:30 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: UVI Sports and Fitness Center (4,000) -- St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Television: None. Home Record: Valpo 2-0, Iona 1-0. Away Record: Valpo 0-0, Iona 0-0. Neutral Record: Valpo 0-1, Iona 0-1. Conference Record: Valpo 0-0, Iona 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: The Valparaiso Crusaders and Iona Gaels will each try to rebound from their first losses of the season, as they meet tonight in the consolation round of the Paradise Jam at the UVI Sports and Fitness Center in St. Thomas. The Crusaders opened this eight-team tournament on Friday by dropping a 73-66 decision to San Diego. The loss was the first of the year for Valpo, as it kicked off its campaign with a pair of home wins over Marian (87-56) and UCF (69-52). As for Iona, it gave 25th-ranked Wisconsin all it could handle on Friday, but fell just short in overtime, 60-58. The Gaels had played just one game prior to this event, defeating Hampton (59-46) in their season and home opener. Tonight's contest marks the first-ever meeting between Valpo and Iona on the hardwood.

The Crusaders were simply dominated on the boards, 50-30, including 17-8 on the offensive glass, as they were edged by San Diego on Friday. Valpo didn't help its cause with poor shooting from the foul line (16-of-27) or from beyond the arc (6-of-24) in the setback. Erik Buggs led the team in the loss with 16 points, although he also accounted for six turnovers. Urule Igbavboa also got into the mix, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds. Michael Rogers was limited to just eight points, but he still leads the team in scoring with 13.7 ppg on the season. Buggs is a close second at 13.3 ppg and he is also dishing out 2.7 apg. As a unit, Valpo is netting 74.0 ppg and shooting 48.3 percent from the floor this season.

Wisconsin used a late tip-in to force overtime and then it held off a late charge by Iona in the extra session for the 60-58 win. The Gaels had plenty of chances to win the game in regulation and late in overtime, but just couldn't get the big shot to go down. Iona clamped down on defense by forcing 19 turnovers and holding the Badgers to a dismal 31.3 percent shooting effort from the field, but it was outscored by a 25-9 margin at the foul line. Jonathan Huffman guided the squad in the loss with 15 points and five boards off the bench. Jermel Jenkins chipped in with 11 points and Gary Springer had 10 points and seven boards. Springer was the only player to reach double figures in the opening win over Hampton, finishing with 22 points and seven rebounds.

Iona was impressive in its showing on Friday and if it can put forth another stingy defensive effort, there is no reason the Gaels can't win this game.

Predicted Outcome

Iona 60, Valparaiso 57