Dease scores 28, Valparaiso beats Illinois State 77-71

By Canadian Press on January 7, 2026.

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Owen Dease’s 28 points, JT Pettigrew added 21 points, and Valparaiso beat Illinois State 77-71 on Wednesday night.

Dease also had six rebounds. Pettigrew made 5 for 9 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) from the field and 9 of 13 from the free-throw line while they also had six rebounds. Rakim Chaney finished 3 of 5 from the field to finish with eight points.

The Redbirds (12-4, 4-1) were led by Chase Walker, who posted 20 points. Illinois State also got 17 points and three steals from Johnny Kinziger. Ty’Reek Coleman also had 13 points.

Valparaiso went into halftime ahead of Illinois State 35-23. Dease put up 12 points in the half. Dease’s 16-point second half helped Valparaiso close out the six-point victory.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

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