Game Notes
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Missouri Valley Conference play continues for the University of Evansville as they will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to take on the Panthers Sunday evening at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
The Aces opened up their 18th season in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 78-60 win over Southern Illinois on Thursday evening. UE had its best opening half of the year, putting up 48 points and cruised to the 18-point win. Colt Ryan led the way with 25 points while Denver Holmes and Kenneth Harris tallied 11 apiece.
Colt Ryan has had a stellar beginning to the 2011-12 season. After two months of play, Ryan leads the MVC in minutes per game (36.4 MPG), is second in the league in points per game (19.4), is fourth in steals per game and sixth in free throw shooting.
Freshmen Ryan Sawvell and Jaylon Moore have seen increased playing time in the last two games, which has resulted in the first two-game win streak for UE this season. Sawvell had a career night with 11 points at Miami while Moore followed that up with a career night of his own. In the win over SIU, Moore scored a career-best five points while seeing nine minutes of action.
Since being outrebounded 38-22 against North Carolina A&T, Evansville has seen drastic improvement on the boards. Over the last three games, UE owns a +1.67 edge in rebounding. That span includes a 36-24 rebounding lead in the game against Tennessee Tech.
Northern Iowa enters Sunday’s matchup with a 10-3 record after falling to Illinois State in their league opener, marking their second straight loss. After winning nine games in a row, their streak was ended with a 76-59 loss to Ohio U. Anthony James, who leads UNI with 14.2 PPG, led all players with 21 points in the loss to Indiana State. James was 9-25 from the floor while connecting on three treys.
Evansville was 1-1 against Northern Iowa last season, falling in Cedar Falls before rebounding for a 70-62 win at Roberts Stadium. In the win, the Aces took a 34-24 lead at halftime before hanging on for the 8-point victory. Ned Cox led the Aces with 16 points while Kavon Lacey chipped in 11. The Aces finished with a 37-30 edge on the boards while holding the Panthers to just .386 shooting on the night.
Over the span of 38 games played in the all-time series between Evansville and Northern Iowa, the series is split at an even 19-19. The Panthers have had the upper hand as of late, winning 11 of the last 13 and 15 out of the last 19 games. The Aces have won the last two meetings in Evansville, but have not won in Cedar Falls since the 2001-02 season.
