VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Derrik Smits scored 18 points with six rebounds and Markus Golder scored 16 and Valparaiso beat UC Riverside 82-73 on Sunday.
Valparaiso (5-3) has won three of its last four and has scored at least 72 points in those games.
The Crusaders never trailed and used an early 15-5 run to make it 30-16 on Bakari Evelyn's 3-pointer with 6:47 before halftime. Valpo led 44-35 at the break. Menno Dijkstra and Ajani Kennedy made back-to-back 3s for UC Riverside (2-7) and reduced the Highlanders' deficit to 57-52 with 12:23 to play but couldn't get closer.