Chicago State was overmatched by Horizon League favorite Valparaiso on Wednesday in an 80-61 loss at the ARC. The Cougars fell behind by 22 in the first half, and their sharpshooters never caught fire as the team finished 5-of-27 beyond the arc.
Once again, senior Trayvon Palmer’s performance was the silver lining. He recorded 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 9 rebounds and 5 steals, continuing to make his early case for an All-WAC spot.
Palmer is now averaging 14.6 points and 9.1 boards.
Chicago State (4-11) wraps up non-conference play Friday at Central Michigan. It will be the Cougars’ last chance to get two non-conference road wins in a single season for the first time since the Independent days.
While Valparaiso (10-3) was a heavy favorite, the victory was still an important bounce-back coming off last week’s loss to Santa Clara. That defeat likely ended Valpo’s chances for a NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but a loss to Chicago State certainly have killed those hopes.
