• Hoopfest 2009 Photo Gallery

With the anticipation of the 2009-10 basketball season building, Purple Aces fans got a sneak peek of the coming up season at the annual Aces Hoopfest Thursday night at Roberts Stadium.

With over 1,300 people in attendance, the Aces participated in a three-point shooting competition, slam dunk contest and intra-squad scrimmages. Fans were also greeted with free T-shirts, $1 concession items, and free poster and schedule cards.

Junior Monie Hudson and junior Stephanie Bamberger took the three-point competition with a combined total of 16 shots. Newcomer Ned Cox won the slam dunk competition that was judged by 14WFIE Sports Director Mike Blake, Evansville Athletic Director John Stanly and women’s basketball senior Amy Gallagher.

The night concluded with an autograph session with both teams on the court.

The Aces are approaching the beginning of an exciting season. The men’s team opens on October 31 with an exhibition game versus Hanover at 2:05 p.m. at Roberts Stadium. They will then have one more exhibition game against Kentucky Wesleyan on November 7 before starting the regular season at home in a contest with Oakland City at 7:05 p.m.

Following a year that saw the Lady Aces win the 2009 MVC Tournament Championship, the women’s team opens with an exhibition game against Oakland City on November 7 at 4:00 p.m. The Lady Aces then have back-to-back home matches with Wisconsin-Milwaukee on November 13 and Samford on November 15.