The Oakland University men's basketball team fell to Valparaiso 82-70 Thursday, February 15, in Rochester, Michigan. Oakland falls to 11-14, 7-6 in the Mid-Continent Conference, while Valparaiso improves to 20-6, 11-2 in conference action. The win marks Valpo's ninth straight win. The Golden Grizzlies came storming out of the gates and took an 11-point lead (20-9) off a Dan Champagne layup at the 13:14 mark in the first half. Oakland led by as many as 16 points three times in the last 3:30 of the half and took a 44-31 edge into the intermission. Valpo's Milo Stovall hit a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to cut OU's lead to 13, 44-31. The second half saw Valparaiso turn the tables on OU as the Crusaders used a 17-4 run to steal the lead 50-48 at the 14:25 mark. The Crusaders led the rest of the way after the lead change. Valpo's lead reached as many as 14 points as sophomore center Raitis Grafs drained two free-throws with 54 seconds remaining, 82-68. Oakland's Mychal Covington hit a layup with five seconds left to close the final gap to 82-70. Leading the way for the Golden Grizzlies was freshman Mike Helms with 19 points and Champagne followed with with 17 points. Leading OU on the boards was freshman forward Kelly Williams with a game-high 10 rebounds. Pacing the Crusaders was Grafs with 23 points and Lubos Barton, who was 6-9 from three-point land, with 22 points. The Golden Grizzlies will travel to Cedar City, Utah to face the T-Birds of Southern Utah Saturday, February 17. Game time is slated for 9:35 EST. Valparaiso will host IUPUI this Saturday at 7:35 p.m. EST. Box Score