Men’s Basketball
Robinson finds stroke after chat with Suns guard Galloway, leads VU to win against Purdue Northwest
Struggling to score points, the 6-foot-5 redshirt senior reached out to an old friend: Phoenix Suns guard Langston Galloway, a veteran of six NBA seasons who frequently visited his alma mater, Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia, where Robinson played before transferring to Valparaiso.
“I told him I was having a shooting spell, that I wasn’t hitting my shots like I should be,” Robinson said. “He gave me a few drills to do. And then, the next game, it happened.”
What happened was a career-high 21 points for Robinson in Valparaiso’s 89-71 win at home against Purdue Northwest on Thursday.
It was the third straight home win for the Crusaders (3-4), led by a breakout game from Robinson, who made 7 for 8 shots from the floor, including 2 of 2 from behind the arc.
Coach Matt Lottich said a conversation with Robinson after Valparaiso’s loss to Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 1 also helped foster a change in his performance.
“He played great tonight,” Lottich said. “He was fantastic. We had some conversations because he was rushing our offense. We told him what we wanted from him, and he’s been picking his spots better, not forcing the action.”
Robinson, a product of Kenwood Academy in Chicago, said he feels like a different player after struggling with a back injury last season, a time he described as “hell.”
“It was like having a battle against yourself,” he said. “Mentally, you’d know that you can go by someone, but your body would say, ‘No, you’re not going to do that.’ I couldn’t get to the spots that I was usually able to get to.”
Robinson scored 12 points in the first 10 minutes Thursday, helping the Crusaders build a 45-25 lead just before halftime. However, Lottich was not pleased with the way his team played in the final minutes of the first half.
“The first 16 minutes of the game is the way we want to play,” he said. “But the last four minutes of the first half were really bad. It was undisciplined. They were getting a lot of second-chance opportunities, and we were turning the ball over.”
Trailing by 13 to open the second half, PNW pulled within 50-45 with 13:37 remaining. But the Crusaders scored four quick points to halt that rally. Five minutes later, Valparaiso led by 20 points again and remained well in front for the rest of the game.
Sophomore Ben Krikke and Connor Barrett, a freshman from Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois, each scored 12 for the Crusaders. Sophomore Vincent Miszkiewicz, a graduate of South Elgin, Illinois, who transferred from Incarnate Word, and Mikell Cooper each scored 17 for PNW.
Valparaiso’s win came without Merrillville graduate Mileek McMillan, a senior forward who has been dealing with tendinitis. Lottich said McMillan was “feeling a lot better” and could play at Toledo on Saturday.
Thursday’s game was played just three days after it was added to the schedule, with Valparaiso looking to fill open dates caused by pandemic-related issues. Lottich said his team has embraced the mindset of welcoming any chance to step on the court.
“That’s why they came here: to play basketball and compete in games,” Lottich said. “When you start taking those games away, it can hurt you a little bit mentally. We want to play as much as we’re allowed to play.”
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
