VALPARAISO, Ind. — For every Buccaneer surge, Valpo had an answer.

East Tennessee State, facing a double-digit deficit early in the second half, scratched and clawed its way within a possession behind senior Jalen Riley.

It wasn’t enough.

The host Crusaders turned to perimeter makes from Alec Peters and Darien Walker and denied the Buccaneers over the final stretch of a 90-76 win in Friday’s regular season opener at Homer Drew Court.

“It was a hard-fought game,” said ETSU coach Murry Bartow. “Peters hurt us bad, Walker hurt us bad. We didn’t do some things right.