Without Marcus Skinner for all but one minute of the game, and Paige Paulsen playing only 25 minutes due to injury, the Valparaiso Crusaders avenged a Jan. 10 home loss to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, defeating the Panthers 66 -57 at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

Skinner went down shortly after the minute mark, suffering a lower right leg injury and Paulsen left shortly after when he was poked in the right eye. Skinner did not return and his status for the rest of the season remains uncertain. Paulsen did return in the second half, scoring four points on a paltry 1-for-7 shooting, including 1-for-5 from beyond the arc.

“We just substitute with the next guy in and see what we can get done”, said Panther head coach Rob Jeter. “You just look down the bench and call on a young man like this to get an effort.”

Jeter was referring to sophomore walk-on forward Jason Averkamp who came into the game with only 25 points this season. He finished the game with 21 points on 6-for-10 shooting including his first two treys of the season.

“It felt good to get the opportunity but I just always want to come in there and give everything I got when coach puts me in,” said Averkamp, one of the few bright spots for the Panthers.

The visiting Crusaders, losers of 6 of their last 8 games before the contest with Milwaukee, shot 44 percent from the field including 53 percent in the first half. They were led by junior guard Brandon McPherson who had 17. Valparaiso’s sixth man, Jarryd Loyd added 12 points and senior forward Shawn Huff contributed 11 to the Crusader victory.

The Panthers struggled out of the gates without their two big men. Their only lead was after an Averkamp three-point shot which made it 5-3 in favor of the home team. After that it was all Valparaiso as they mounted a 12-point lead at halftime.

Milwaukee closed the gap by using a 10-2 run to start the second half with Averkamp and junior guard Ricky Franklin scoring all the points themselves. But McPherson hit two consecutive threes to keep the charging black and gold at bay.

The Panthers had one more run in them, cutting the deficit to two, 52-50, but the Crusaders responded and UWM never got closer than that for the rest of the game.

UWM was led by Averkamp’s 21 and Franklin, with 11, was the only other Panther to register a double-digit point total. The home team shot only 27 percent in the game including an abysmal 7-for-32 from beyond the arc.

“We needed 40 minutes of an effort and not just 20 and we would’ve had a much better chance of playing basketball,” said Jeter.

The Panthers next game will be the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament on March 4.

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