GAME NOTES: Having won all but one of their first nine games of the season, the Crusaders of Valparaiso are set to host the New Mexico Lobos in non- conference action at the ARC on Saturday night.

The Crusaders have matched their best start through nine games since moving to the Division I level, and are currently enjoying a seven-game win streak since bowing to Missouri on the road (56-41) back on Nov. 16. The latest victory for the program took place on Wednesday as it slipped by Eastern Kentucky in a 72-66 final.

As for New Mexico, this game counts as the team's first true road tilt of the season, although it has played outside of Albuquerque as part of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off last month. The squad has gotten off to a rough start, sitting just one game above .500 after seven outings, thanks to a 57-44 victory over visiting New Mexico State on Wednesday night.

The Lobos have won both previous meetings between the programs, the most recent of those coming two years ago in The Pit where UNM posted a 65-52 victory.

The Lobos made just nine field goals in the second half of their game earlier this week, but that was still better than the six field goals credited to the New Mexico State Aggies who ended up on the wrong side of a 15-point decision in The Pit, which is also going by the name of WisePies Arena these days.

New Mexico was paced by Deshawn Delaney on offense with his game-high 22 points, adding seven rebounds to lead the group in that department as well. The only other double-digit scorer for the hosts was Devon Williams who dropped in 13 points for a squad that was extremely active at the defensive end as they held the visitors to just 34.8 percent shooting from the floor and forced them into 20 turnovers.

With Cullen Neal (17.0 ppg) out of the picture due to a sprained left ankle, the rest of the Lobos are having to step up and fill the void, but it just isn't going according to plan. Delaney accounts for 13.0 ppg, to go along with his 5.7 rpg, while Greenwood chips in another 10.6 ppg and is first on the unit with 26 assists, but the fact that he is shooting a feeble 28.8 percent from the floor, including 21.7 percent on the outside, can make him a liability at times.

While Valpo may have claimed the victory against Eastern Kentucky, it was the first win of the season for the Crusaders that came by less than 13 points. Leading the offensive charge for the visitors was Alec Peters who tallied 21 points on a stellar 7-of-8 shooting behind the 3-point line, followed by Tevonn Walker and Vashil Fernandez with 15 and 12 points, respectively, the latter shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor and adding six rebounds before fouling out.

The team as a whole made good on 11-of-21 attempts from out on the perimeter in order to overcome 16 turnovers. It also helped that Valpo won the battle on the boards against EKU by a 39-26 margin.

Peters paces the Crusaders in scoring with 19.4 ppg as he shoots not just 59.0 percent from the field, but a stellar 60.4 percent (29-of-48) behind the 3- point line as well. Because of his efforts, the team as a whole is knocking down 42.5 percent from distance, compared to 33.2 percent for the competition. Darien Walker and Tevonn Walker contribute 11.9 and 10.0 ppg, respectively, to the cause as well.

The Lobos should be a tough out for Valpo, but with injuries and poor shooting efforts by key figures in the lineup, perhaps the Crusaders won't have too much trouble getting into the win column yet again.