Valparaiso heads to Horizon final, tops Cleveland St. 60-55

Mar 8, 2015, 12:15 am

VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Alec Peters keyed a 7-2 run in the final two minutes and top-seeded Valparaiso held off No. 4 seed Cleveland State, 60-55, Saturday night to advance to Tuesday's Horizon League tournament championship game.

Peters finished with 22 points to lead the Crusaders (27-5), who struggled from the field, hitting just 19 of 50 (38 percent), including 5 of 17 from beyond the arc. Darien Walker contributed 12 points.

Anton Grady scored 20 points and Trey Lewis and Charlie Lee each added 10 more for Cleveland State (18-14). The Vikings shot just 39.2 percent from the field (20 of 51) and was just 4 of 15 from distance.

Keith Carter knocked down a 3-pointer to give Valparaiso a 48-39 lead with 8:31 left, but Cleveland State rallied. Lewis drilled a 3-pointer with 2:09 left to tie the game at 53-53. But the Vikings got only a layup from Anton Grady the rest of the way.