After the game, Howard was the first Valpo player Diener walked over to, hugging his former teammate and exchanging some words with him before saying goodbye.

“For some reason I always thought I would someday play here again,” Howard said. “I didn’t think it would be the next year.” “When coach told me (we might play Marquette) I was excited. It was a great opportunity for us. The win over them would have been big for our program.”

Howard did not hold back against his former teammates, getting the game started with a three-pointer at 19:01 to put the Crusaders up 6-0. In his 18 minutes on the court, Howard scored six points going 2-of-4 on the floor and 1-of-2 from the free throw line.

Diener, who came into Marquette in 2001 along with Howard as a member of Tom Crean’s recruiting class said he enjoyed playing against his old teammate.

“Ron’s a great kid,” Diener said. “He plays extremely hard. I still keep in touch with him. It will be interesting to see how well they do this year.”

Howard transferred from Marquette after his freshman year in 2001 to Valparaiso where he sat out the 2002-’03 season due to the NCAA transfer rule.

Daniels who played as a guard for Marquette from 1972-’74 after transferring from Indiana State under Bobby Knight, was 0-2 in the Blue and Gold Classic, losing to Marquette 79-41 Friday and to Arkansas-Monticello in the third place consolation game, 86-67.

“I had a great homecoming,” Daniels said after losing to Marquette. “Everything except for the game.”

Daniels played on the Marquette team that successfully challenged North Carolina State University for the 1974 NCAA championship. He returned to his hometown of Savannah, Ga. in August 2002 as the head coach of the Tigers after coaching at Savannah’s Groves High School where he had a 42-38 record in three seasons.