SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With eight seconds to go in the game sophomore guard Sigurd Lorange drove to the basket and scored the game-winning basket in front of a sold-out crowd at the Weisiger Center. The Valkyries 68-67 win over Chowan on Friday night snapped a four-game losing streak dating back to the second week of December.
 
"It was great to be back here," Converse University head men's basketball coach Ryan Saunders said. "The crowd gave us a bit of a push towards the end as we're making plays and getting stops defensively…I'm really proud of our teams fight, it was a game of runs and I'm just happy that we made the final play on the offensive end and came up with a big stop defensively."
 
The two teams appeared to be evenly matched as the two squads combined for eight lead changes and four ties. One of the most surprising stats of the night came in the minutes led category, Chowan (1-10, 1-8 Conference Carolinas) held the advantage for just over 31-minutes over the Valkyries.
 
Chowan won the opening tip-off against Converse (5-9, 4-4 Conference Carolinas) and opened the game on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Earl Burgess III (Spartanburg, S.C.) scored the first eight points of the game for the Valkyries offense but Converse trailed 17-8 going into the first media timeout of the first half. Out of the media timeout, Burgess III scored his tenth point of the contest and jump started a 6-0 run for the Converse offense.
 
"I've been getting in the gym and working on my shot," Burgess III said about his hot start offensively. "Tonight, it worked out."
 
Trailing by seven points with 9:57 to play in the opening period of action, Lorange went on a personal 5-0 run to pull the Valkyries back within a pair of the Hawks. The two teams traded baskets down the stretch but Chowan eventually began to separate from Converse. Coming out of the final media timeout break with 3:32 to play in the half, Jordan Warlick (Irmo, S.C.) caught fire and helped keep the Valkyries in the game. The junior guard connected on three consecutive three-pointers and the Valkyries trailed 33-32 heading into the halftime break.
 
Coming out of the halftime intermission the Valkyries defense stepped up and began to pressure the Hawks. Burgess III swatted away the Hawks first possession of the second half, a few seconds later Jimmie Sanders III (Dallas, Texas) gave the Valkyries the lead with a fastbreak basket.
 
For the remainder of the half the two teams traded baskets and never allowed the other team to hold more than an eight-point advantage. With just 1:29 to go in the game, Lorange hit a mid-ranger jump shot to give the Valkyries a 65-62 edge over the Hawks. Moments later Chowan tied the game at 65, following a timeout the Hawks executed on mid-range jumper and held a 67-66 advantage over the Valkyries.
 
Chowan called a timeout to setup their last-minute defense and helped set the stage for the Converse men's basketball team. With just 10 seconds to go in the game, Lorange drove to the basket and scored the game-winning layup as Chowan turned the ball over on their final possession of the game.
 
Lorange led the team with a 20-point, 5-assist, 4-rebound effort on Friday night. Burgess III scored a career high 19-points and paced the Valkyries defense with three blocks on the night. Jordan Warlick finished third on the team with 9-points, while Elijah Pitts led the team with eight rebounds on the night.       
 
Next Up:
The Valkyries will have a few days off before traveling up I-85 to battle Belmont Abbey on Wednesday night. The match is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off time.
 
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