Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – #Colt Ryan scored a game-high 33 points while Jaylon Moore# added 13 to lead the University of Evansville men's basketball team to a 73-55 win over the University of Southern Indiana in exhibition action at the Ford Center on Saturday evening in the Vectren Community Classic.
 
Ryan hit 11-of-20 shots, including all eight free throws while Moore was 5-8 from the floor.  Keith DeWitt led USI with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting while Taylor Wischmeier chipped in 13.
 
“It never felt like an exhibition game from the beginning,” Aces head coach Marty Simmons said.  “USI is a quality program, they have a great coach and quality players.  We showed some good leadership and made some plays to get us going.”
 
Evansville's defense shined in the early going as it held USI to just 1-12 shooting while forcing four turnovers.  The offense, led by four Colt Ryan points, helped the Aces grab an 11-2 advantage.
 
Keith DeWitt helped USI keep it close as he registered the first three buckets helping the Screaming Eagles chop the deficit to 11-6.  Evansville fought back, pushing its lead to as many as nine before USI fought back.  After its cold streak at the start, they hit 8-of-15 shots to cut the gap to 24-20 with 3:54 remaining in the period.
 
The Aces took over in the final minutes, opening up their lead to double figures before taking a 37-25 lead into the break.  Ryan finished the half with 14 points while DeWitt notched 13 for USI.  Both were 6-10 from the floor.
 
A bucket by Ryan Sawvell to open the second half gave UE its largest lead of 14 points and later, a Ryan trey helped the lead stand at 13 (42-29).
 
The Screaming Eagles failed to relent as a 13-1 stretch over the next four minutes cut the deficit to just one at 43-42.  Five Eagles scored while they held UE to 0-3 shooting while forcing four turnovers in the stretch.  A field goal by Lewis Jones with 11 minutes left ended the drought.
 
UE slowly came back to life as they would reel off the next seven points with Ryan scoring four.  Consecutive buckets by Jaylon Moore, including an and-one, made it a 55-43 UE lead.
 
It was all Aces from there as they would pull away from there, earning the 73-55 win.  The Aces, led by nine Ryan rebounds, finished with the 42-39 advantage in that department.  UE also hit 48.1% of its shots while holding USI to 33.3% shooting.
 
Next weekend, UE will have its final preseason tune-up as Illinois-Springfield comes to the Ford Center on Saturday for a 4:05 p.m. game.  Earlier in the day, the Aces women take on USI beginning at Noon.  At 2 p.m., the university will host Fan Fest across the street from the arena.  Full information on the event will be available this week.