- Valpo welcomes record crowd, Purdue to ARC
A record-tying crowd of 5,432 watched the Crusaders take on Purdue at the ARC on Dec. 7. Valparaiso welcomed a packed house at the Athletics-Recreation Center Tuesday evening, Dec. 7, to witness the Crusaders take on a top-20 Purdue squad in front of a national television audience on ESPNU. Valpo gave the fans in attendance and those watching at home quite the show, actually leading the Boilermakers 90 seconds into the second half, but eventually Purdue pulled away for a 76-58 victory.
Valpo welcomed Purdue to the ARC for the first time in nine seasons in the final game of a three-year series between the two programs, and the fans turned out in droves for the regional showdown. The sellout crowd numbered 5,432, matching the all-time attendance record at the ARC set on Feb. 5, 2008 when the Crusaders faced Butler. They filled in the building Tuesday night long before the opening tip and created a raucous atmosphere all night long, led by the efforts of the Crusader student section.
“We got tremendous support in terms of a great turnout from our student body for [Tuesday’s] game,” said Valparaiso director of athletics Mark LaBarbera. “The energy in the student sections and the passion they brought with them to the game really created a significant home-court advantage in the ARC. Then you add to that the support of the Valparaiso and Northwest Indiana communities and the turnout from those audiences, and it really made this a great atmosphere for college basketball.”
Purdue scored eight of the game’s first ten points Tuesday night, but Valparaiso, sporting brand-new gray alternate uniforms, answered with five straight points to set up a first half full of back-and-forth action. The Boilermakers led 23-18 with 8:02 to play in the first half, but Valpo’s defense gave up just one point over the next five and a half minutes as the Crusaders put together a run to take the lead for the first time. Back-to-back baskets by Howard Little, the second a fast-break dunk, brought Valpo back to within one, and then Brandon Wood connected on a 3-pointer to give the Crusaders the lead and send the crowd into a tizzy.
Just over two minutes later, Wood hit another 3-pointer, resulting in an even louder roar from the Crusader fanbase as Valpo went ahead by four points. But Purdue scored the final six points of the first half to earn a two-point halftime lead, and while a layup by Little 1:23 into the second half gave the Crusaders a one-point edge, the Boilermakers eventually pulled away for the victory. Despite the final result, however, the environment inside the ARC created by the enthusiasm of the sell-out crowd made the game a memorable occasion for all involved.
“I think you clearly saw [Tuesday] night why ESPN has identified us in the recent past as having one of the best mid-major game-day atmospheres in the nation,” said LaBarbera.