EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A crowd in excess of 1,000 helped the University of Evansville men's and women's basketball teams kick off the 2016-17 season with Hoopfest on Thursday night at the Ford Center.
 
A full night of action took place including a 3-point contest, shooting challenge, slam dunk exhibition and scrimmages by each squad.
 
Payton Langston and Ryan Taylor got the night started with a victory in the 3-point contest.  In the half court shooting challenge, it was Willie Wiley and Sasha Robinson whose team hit a long shot in just 56 seconds.
 
A close contest ensued in the women's scrimmage as the Gray team beat the Purple squad by a 13-12 margin.  Peyton Langston led the gray with four points while Brooke Dossett had three. 
Camary Williams was the leading scorer in the contest, posting seven points for the purple while Kaylan Coffman had four.
 
On the men's side, the Purple took down the Orange by a score of 20-10.  Sergej Vucetic was the top performer for the purple, scoring six points.  Jaylon Brown and Ryan Taylor each hit a triple and finished with five points apiece. Christian Benzon had four points for the orange.
 
Following the festivities, fans were able to get autographs from both teams on their newly-released schedule posters.
 
Evansville's women begin their season at home against Cleveland State on November 12 while the men open up on Nov. 11 at Louisville.
 

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