Coach Marty Simmons Post-Game
The University of Evansville men’s basketball team used balance scoring and held the Drake University Bulldogs to 34 percent shooting Wednesday night at Roberts Stadium in a 67-51 Missouri Valley Conference victory. The Aces evened their overall record at 8-8 and improved to 2-4 in the MVC. The Bulldogs fell to 7-10 and 2-4 in the MVC.
Ned Cox & Pieter van Tongeren Post-Game
Four Aces reached double figures, led by sophomore Ned Cox’s season-high 15 points. The 6'0" guard brought the crowd to its feet late in the first half with a tomahawk dunk that gave UE a 29-16 lead. Evansville’s bench contributed 30 points on the night. Senior Pieter van Tongeren#’s 12, sophomore Colt Ryan’s 11, and senior Clint Hopf’s 10 points piloted UE to the victory. Junior Kenneth Harris led the Aces on the glass, grabbing 13 rebounds while also contributing nine points.
"We did some good things tonight," said coach Marty Simmons. "Troy Taylor had a stretch in the second half when he dove after loose balls, and knocked some passes away and created a five-second call that gave us energy. Ned (Cox) was solid the entire game. Piet (van Tongeren) got us off to a great start. Both of our big guys played well. When we have balance like we did tonight, that's when we're playing our best basketball."
After Drake’s opening basket, Evansville never trailed again, building a 14-point lead in the first half a 27-13. UE shot 51.9 percent (14-for-27) from the floor in the opening period, while holding the Bulldogs to 34.8 percent (8-for-23). The Aces also dominated around the rim, outscoring DU 20-6 in the paint.
Drake cut Evansville's lead to four at 44-40 with 12:49 to play, but the Aces went on a 21-5 run to go ahead 65-45 with 3:41 to play and assure an end to a three-game losing streak. Evansville finished the contest shooting 45.6 percent (26-for-57) from the field and 92.3 percent (12-for-13) from the free throw line, while Drake hit only 16 of 47 total shots (34.0%), 4 of 19 three-pointers (14.3%) and 15 of its 29 chances (51.7%) at the charity stripe. UE also out-rebounded the Bulldogs 40-31.
The Aces are back in action Saturday when they travel to take on Illinois State at 6:05 pm CST. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Midwest.
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