Boxscore

Frontcourt players Nate Garner, Shy Ely and James Haarsma combined for 47 points and 25 rebounds Saturday night for the University of Evansville in a 64-49 win over the University at Buffalo, giving the Purple Aces their first 3-0 start since 1999.

"Our guys played their tailends off tonight," Coach Marty Simmons said.  "I know Buffalo missed a lot of shots, and we were fortunate because they're going to win a lot of games this season.  But hopefully we had something to do with holding them to 49 points.  Our game plan worked because the players made it work.  They had three good practices this week, and they've worked and worked and worked.  It's great to see them get rewarded."

The Aces jumped ahead 32-19 late in the first half, and after the Bulls cut the margin to eight with 6:44 remaining in the game at 43-35, Evansville went on an 11-1 run to go up by 18 points at 54-36.  Garner, Ely and Haarsma accounted for all 11 points.

The Aces held Buffalo to 36 percent shooting, and the Bulls didn't do themselves any favors with 8-for-19 free throw shooting.  Evansville shot 43 percent and hit 16 of 21 from the line.

Garner finished with a career-high 20 points, to go along with seven rebounds and five steals.  Ely added 14 points, and Haarsma came off the bench to collect 13 points and 12 rebounds. Jason Holsinger also reached double figures for the Aces with 10 points.

The Aces take their 3-0 record on the road for the first time Saturday, with a 1:00 CST game at Butler.