Valparaiso tips Illinois-Chicago 68-66 in OT

Brandon Wood scored 19 points and hit the go-ahead basket in overtime as Valparaiso fought back for a 68-66 victory over Illinois-Chicago in a Horizon League opener Thursday night.

The Crusaders (5-2) trailed by as many as 14 points and were down by 10 with 4:47 left in regulation. But they finally tied it 62-62 on Ryan Broekhoff's 3-pointer with 1:01 left in the second half. Wood then hit the first two baskets in overtime, and Valparaiso won its third in a row.

Cory Johnson scored 15, Howard Little 12 and Broekhoff 10.

Paul Carter paced the Flames (4-4) with 18 points. Brad Birton added 11 and Zavion Neely 10.

The Flames outrebounded Valparaiso 44-34 but went just 1 of 14 from 3-point distance.

Illinois-Chicago led 36-24 at intermission.