EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Three days after posting a career-high 11 assists, sophomore Dru Smith dished out nine more while posting 17 points to help the University of Evansville men's basketball team take a 66-50 win over Southeast Missouri State on Thursday night at the Ford Center.
"They are hard to defend and scored 95 last time out against Louisiana Tech," UE head coach Marty Simmons said. "Our guys did a great job on the defensive end. Overall, our team defense was really good."
Box Score (PDF)
Smith hit 5 out of 6 attempts from the field for the Purple Aces (3-0) in 38 minutes of action. It tied his career mark in minutes, which was also set last time out against North Carolina Central. Smith was UE's leading rebounder with six and also had a game-high of nine helpers; over the last two games, Smith has notched 20 assists. Ryan Taylor tied Smith for the game-high as he posted 17 while hitting three triples. Blake Simmons also had the long ball going once again, knocking down three from outside on his way to 11 points.
"One of the keys once again was the free throws," Smith said. "They shot seven and we shot 27. Coach told us that was the difference in the game."
SEMO (1-2) was led by a double-double from Milos Vranes, who finished the evening with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Daniel Simmons had nine tallies.
Evansville took a 5-0 lead in the opening minutes and never looked back. Dru Smith got UE on the board with a triple before a 4-for-5 start got the Aces off to a 10-2 advantage. Blake Simmons also had a triple in the run. Just over halfway into the period, Solomon Hainna hit a free throw to give UE its first double digit lead of the night at 20-10.
The RedHawks got within seven at 24-17 when Daniel Simmons hit a triple, but Smith responded with his second 3-pointer of the night as UE finished the half on a 12-4 run to take a 36-21 halftime lead. Smith and Duane Gibson led the squad with eight points apiece in the opening stanza.
After Ryan Taylor notched his second trey in the opening minute of the second half, Smith hit two buckets to push the lead to 22 points at 43-21. Just over three minutes into the half, SEMO got on the board with a triple of his own. He hit another a minute later to gut the gap to 16 points at 43-27. The run for SEMO extended to 8-0 before Blake Simmons knocked down a triple to end the stretch.
UE was able to extend the lead back out to 26 tallies as a pair of Smith free throws made it a 58-32 contest inside of the 9-minute mark. SEMO went on a 13-2 run to get back within 15 with 4:14 on the clock, but the Aces were able to fend off the challenge and finish the night with a 66-50 victory. The Aces shot 40.0% on the night while holding the RedHawks to 39.6%. Rebounds went the way of the RedHawks by a 31-28 final.
Evansville has won its first three games for the fourth time in five years. All three wins have come by double figures, marking the first time UE has started the season 3-0 while winning each game by 10 or more since the 1998-99 season.
- INFO: For all of the latest information on University of Evansville men's basketball, visit GoPurpleAces.com or follow the program on Twitter via @UEAthletics_MBB.
- DONATE: For information on giving to UE Athletics or its individual athletics programs, visit the DONATE tab on the top of GoPurpleAces.com.
- TICKETS: To purchase tickets for University of Evansville athletics events, log on to GoPurpleAces.com and click on the TICKETS tab on top of the page.
