Kone Reinstated

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Kone cleared by the NCAA

Crusaders' center reinstated, will start tonight

BY JOHN O'MALLEY

jomalley@nwitimes.com

219.42.5151

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Thursday, January 26, 2006 12:37 AM CST

Mohamed Kone answered a knock on his door Wednesday morning and saw Valparaiso head coach Homer Drew standing there.

"Moe opened the door and he was kind of solemn, and I just said: 'Moe, we've got news,' " Drew said. "He looked at me and I told him, 'Pack your bags; you're going with us (to Oakland), and it's great to have you back.'

"Moe's face immediately broke into a big smile, and he was real happy. I wanted to share the news with him in person and not over the phone.''

The NCAA placed a call to VU Athletic Director Mark LaBarbera Wednesday to inform him that its investigation into Kone's travel from Florida to enroll as a student at Valparaiso last fall had been completed and the center was cleared to play.

Neither Drew, nor LaBarbera could discuss specifics of the case.

"We're relieved that the situation is resolved now and behind us, and we're elated that the team can get back to concentrating on basketball and that Moe can concentrate on basketball and being a student,'' LaBarbera said.

Kone, who missed the last two games, will start tonight's Mid-Continent Conference game at Oakland.

"It's a great day,'' Drew said. "All the questions have been answered, and Moe is eligible to play, so we're just ecstatic.''

Valpo had won six straight games until the NCAA notified the university a couple hours before its game at Chicago State last Thursday of its investigation.

"I was kind of a little bit nervous about it (NCAA process)," said Kone, "but now we're going to go out and play good. We're going to get the chemistry back.''

Kone said he was disappointed there was an investigation to begin with.

"I don't think I did (anything) wrong,'' Kone said. "They didn't come to us with that when the season started. We played almost half the games of the season before this. Why come right now with it?

"That was the toughest moment to come (to us) with this. I was kind of disappointed with that, because it affected the team, my teammates and my future, too.''

Valpo senior guard Seth Colclasure said Kone's return will be a big boost.

"We've missed him the last two games," Colclasure said. "We've struggled on the boards, and he gives us a presence inside.

"Hopefully we can turn this thing around and get back to where we were.''

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Wooten's 40 Carry Oakland Past Valpo

Calvin Wooten?s 40-point night helped erase seven and a half years of history and led the Oakland Golden Grizzlies to a 95-89 win over the Crusaders Thursday night at the Athletics Center O?Rena in Rochester, Mich.

The win was Oakland?s first in 17 all-time games with Valpo, and avenged a 95-64 Crusader win January 2 at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Wooten?s 40 points were the most scored by any Crusader opponent this season, and a season-high for the junior transfer.

Valpo would twice cut the lead to three in the last five minutes, but each time see the Grizzlies answer back on the other end. Vova Severovas hit his biggest shot of the night with 3:30 left, banking in a four-footer to put Oakland on top 80-73.

The score was 81-75 with under two minutes to go when Wooten hit his fourth three-pointer of the night with the shot clock winding down, applying the dagger to the Crusaders and ending the win streak.

The early stages of the game featured little defense, with the Grizzlies jumping ahead 9-0 before four Valpo triples brought the Crusaders within 16-14 within five minutes of the opening tip. Through 8:17 of the half, the teams had combined for 55 points, 11 three-pointers and made 19-of-24 shots.

The Crusaders briefly tied the game, equaling the Grizzlies at 33 on an Ali Berdiel (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Andrean) triple, his third of the game, with 8:10 left. Berdiel struck again at the 2:09 mark, knocking down 1-of-2 free throws to give Valpo their first and only lead at 45-44. With the score tied at 48 late in the half, Brandon Cassise sent the teams into the locker room in appropriate fashion, draining a leaning 26-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to put Oakland on top 51-48 at the break.

Berdiel led the Brown and Gold with 14 points, three more than his season-high coming in, on 5-of-7 shooting. Jarryd Loyd (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) was also in double-figures with 10 points, adding a game-high five assists. Wooten led all scorers with 17, and the Grizzlies got 11 more from Vova Severovas. The Crusaders shot 65.4% from the floor in the first half, including 9-of-11 three-pointers, while Oakland hit on 63.3% of their shots and made 7-of-13 threes. Valpo committed 12 first half turnovers, but did dominate up front, out-rebounding the hosts 14-6.

The Grizzlies maintained their lead through the first 12 minutes of the second half, extending the margin to 70-64 on a pair of Severovas free throws with 9:08 left. After another Berdiel three-pointer cut the deficit back to three, the Crusaders went cold and watched Oakland build the lead back to six with 6:10 left.

Berdiel led the Crusaders, losers of three-straight, with 25 points. Valpo placed five others in double-figures, including 12 points and six rebounds for Mohamed Kone (Lyon, France/Jean Paul Sartre). Ron Howard (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) had 12 points, while Loyd and Seth Colclasure (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) each had 10. Dan Oppland (Saint Louis, Mo./Whitfield) finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, his third double-double of the season.

Valpo shot 50.8% from the floor, but just 40.5% in the second half, including only 4-of-15 second-half three-pointers. The Crusaders out-rebounded the Grizzlies 36-24, including a 15-6 lead on the offensive glass, but turned the ball over 19 times. Oakland shot 58.0% for the night and hit 10-of-19 three-pointers.

Oakland (8-13, 3-6 Mid-Con), whose fans stormed the court following the win, did manage to put three players besides Wooten in double-figures, producing their second-highest scoring output of the season. Severovas finished with 15 points and Rick Billings had 12. Cassise had 10 points on a trio of three-pointers.

The Crusaders (11-7, 4-4 Mid-Con) return to the Athletics-Recreation Center Saturday for ?Be Bold, Wear Gold? night against IUPUI at 7:05. The first 700 fans will receive a free gold Valpo t-shirt, and all mezzanine tickets are available at a special discounted price of $5. The game is the first of three-straight at the ARC for the Brown and Gold and will be carried live on the Valpo Sports Radio Network and online at www.valpo.edu/athletics beginning at 6:50 p.m.