Game Notes

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Beginning on Thursday, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team will play host to three games in three nights as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. 
 
A full schedule of games is below, however, UE opens up versus Buffalo on Thursday before playing Yale on Friday and Western Illinois on Saturday evening.  The first 1,000 fans on Thursday receive a Marty Simmons bobblehead while tickets for the full slate of games (six in total) this weekend are just $30.
 
Evansville opened up the season on Saturday at No. 22 Notre Dame, coming out on the losing end of a 58-49 final.  The Aces played strong in a tough road environment as their brilliant defensive strategy held the Irish to just 58 points.
 
For the 51st time in his career, Colt Ryan led the Aces in scoring. The Batesville, Ind. native tallied 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. He hit six out of 14 attempts while recording three assists.
 
Ryan was also 3-for-3 from the free throw line against the Irish. It marked the 21st time was perfect from the line with three or more attempts. Evansville is 9-12 in those games, but 7-4 in the last 11 outings that Ryan accomplished the feat.
 
Ryan Sawvell had a blue collar effort at Notre Dame, especially on the defensive end. In what UND center Jack Cooley called “a Big East game”, Sawvell limited Cooley to just seven shots on the day. He got the job done on both ends of the floor, tallying 11 boards and ten points.
 
Sawvell registered the third double figure rebound effort of his career and his second double-double. His first double-double came at Bradley last season when he notched 12 points and 16 rebounds.
 
In his debut at UE, freshman #D.J. Balentine# came alive in the late minutes, hitting three late treys en route to a 9-point effort. Balentine kept UE’s late hopes alive versus the Irish while giving the frosh some momentum going forward. The Kokomo, Ind. native also had three rebounds in the game.
 
Buffalo enters play this weekend with an 0-2 mark. The Bulls fell by a 57-53 margin to Princeton in the opener before being dropped by a 95-68 final at Florida State on Monday. Junior Javon McCrea has averaged 19.5 PPG for UB, including a 22-point outing versus the Tigers. Last season, he averaged 14.7 PPG while leading the Bulls to a 20-11 mark and the second round of the CIT. Tony Watson has put up 13.5 PPG while registering 17 tallies in the game against the Seminoles.
 
Yale is coming off of a 19-10 mark in 2011-12 while opening this year up with a pair of losses. The Bulldogs fell in overtime to Sacred Heart by an 85-82 final in the opener before recording a 61-35 defeat at St. Joseph’s on Monday. Austin Morgan sits atop the Bulldogs’ leaderboard, averaging 16 points in the first two outings, including a 28-point game versus Sacred Heart. He hit 7-of-12 shots, including six treys.
 
The Leathernecks (18-15 in 2012) picked up a 71-39 win over Wabash in Saturday’s opener. Terrell Parks, who averaged 11.9 PPG last year, led WIU with 15 points and seven rebounds versus Wabash. Western Illinois went on a four-game win streak late in the year to advance to the Summit League Championship game where they fell to No. 2 seed South Dakota State by a 52-50 final in overtime. They faced Oregon State in the opening round of the CBI.
 
Below is a full schedule for the weekend.  Sunday’s contest pitting Yale against Western Illinois will be played at Oakland City.
 
Thursday, November 15
Buffalo at Evansville - 7:05 p.m. - Ford Center
 
Friday, November 16
Western Illinois vs. Buffalo - 5 p.m. - Ford Center
Yale at Evansville - 7:35 p.m. - Ford Center
 
Saturday, November 17
Buffalo vs. Yale - 5 p.m. - Ford Center
Western Illinois at Evansville - 7:35 p.m. - Ford Center
 
Sunday, November 18
Yale vs. Western Illinois - 2 p.m. - Oakland City