Valparaiso, Ind. • Tevonn Walker scored 25 points and Valparaiso beat Utah State 72-65 on Tuesday night to remain undefeated.
Walker was 10-of-17 shooting and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Jaume Sorolla added 16 points and Bakari Evelyn chipped in 10 points for Valparaiso (8-0), which is off to its third-best program start.
Sam Merrill scored 19 points to lead Utah State (4-4), which had its two-game win streak snapped and is 0-4 on the road. Daron Henson added 10 points.
The Crusaders took the lead for good with about four minutes left in the first half. Henson's 3-pointer and Merrill's two free throws pulled the Aggies to 52-49 with 9:46 remaining. Walker made a layup and 3-pointer and Utah State didn't get closer.
Valparaiso shot 26 of 61 from the field (42.6 percent), but just 2 of 13 from long range with Walker making them both. Utah State was 9-of-33 shooting from 3-point range and missed 11 free throws.