Deilvez Yearby finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds and Zach Plackemeier scored four of his 19 points in the final 26 seconds to lift IPFW to a 75-72 victory over Valparaiso on Tuesday night.
The Mastodons (4-6) trailed for much the second half and by as many as 11. Down 71-63 with 4:11 remaining, IPFW outscored the Crusaders 12-1 the rest of the way and finally took the lead, 73-72, on a jumper by Plackemeier with 26 second remaining. Plackemeier then added two free throws to cap the comeback.
Brandon Wood scored 23 points and Cory Johnson added 22 for Valparaiso (5-7).
The first half featured nine lead changes and four ties, and IPFW went into halftime up 32-30.
The Mastodons were outshot 50 percent-40.4 percent but made up for it at the free-throw line where they were 25 of 35. The Crusaders hit 17 of 27 free throws.
