Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Shooting a season-high 63.2% from the floor, the Purple Aces men’s basketball team dominated its way to a 94-68 victory over Miami (Ohio) University on Wednesday night at the Ford Center.
 
For the second time in three games since his return, senior Colt Ryan led Evansville (5-3) in scoring as he finished with 18 points, hitting 6-of-13 shots while notching eight assists.  #D.J. Balentine and Ned Cox each finished the night with 15 points while Troy Taylor# had his best scoring effort of the season, notching 11. 
 
“We are thrilled to get this win because Miami is a great team,” head coach Marty Simmons said.  “Our goal is to keep improving every day because we have another great team, Murray State, coming in on Saturday.”
 
Early on, both teams had trouble finding their scoring touch, each starting the game 1-for-6 from the field.  Colt Ryan registered the game’s opening score before Quinten Rollins knocked down a three for Miami (3-4).  Following the slow start, the Aces hit three shots to take an 8-5 advantage before Jon Harris tied the game up with another trey for Miami.
 
Up 18-14, Evansville embarked on a 14-2 run as the threes fell in bunches for UE.  D.J. Balentine hit four in a span of three minutes as the Aces opened up a 32-16 advantage.  The RedHawks closed the gap to 13 (36-23) before UE opened up its largest edge of 20, thanks in part to five Ryan tallies.
 
Evansville would hold that lead, heading to halftime with a 46-26 lead.  The Aces dominated in every category, finishing with a 61.3%-35.7% shooting advantage while outrebounding the RedHawks by a 22-8 edge in the half.  Ryan notched 13 points while Balentine, who was 4-5 beyond the arc, had 12.  After starting the game 1-of-6, UE hit 18 of its last 25 shots in the half.
 
Miami made a 6-0 run just over six minutes into the latter stanza, cutting the Evansville lead to 60-45 before Ned Cox hit his third trey of the period to end the run.  The Aces quickly regrouped as they opened up a 73-50 lead on yet another Balentine trey followed by a Taylor free throw.  The RedHawks kept the Aces’ lead around the 20-point mark as they would knock down four out of their first six treys in the second half.
 
Freshman Adam Wing had the top game of his young career, setting career highs in nearly every category.  The frosh posted a 5-0 run on his own while scoring seven out of UE’s nine points to give UE an 82-59 advantage.  The Aces would add to their edge in the final minutes, finishing off with a 26-point victory.
 
Miami had three players finish in double figures, led by Allen Roberts’ total of 15.  Jon Harris had 13 tallies while Reggie Johnson finished the evening with 11.
 
Balentine and Cox combined to connected on 15 out of 17 shots and 8 out of 10 three-pointers.  Balentine was 5-of-6 from three-point range while Cox was 3-for-4 from outside.  Taylor hit four buckets on his way to 11 points.  He led all players with 9 boards while tallying four assists and a pair of steals.  Also making a strong impact was Wing.  The Morehead, Ky. native hit four out of five attempts to finish with nine points.
 
Evansville finished with a 38-13 advantage on the glass.  The 13 rebounds allowed was the lowest since Coach Simmons arrived at UE in 2007.  The previous low for an opponent was 18 by Samford in Simmons’ inaugural season as head coach.
 
The offense was stout, shooting 63.2% on the night while reeling off 94 points.  That total is the most Evansville has scored in a home contest since notching 100 in the 2004-05 season opener against Central Michigan (a 100-85 victory).  Prior to tonight’s game, UE grabbed a 72-46 win in its last home game versus Alabama A&M before winning by 26 over Miami.  The last time Evansville won two consecutive home games by 25 or more was in the first two games of the 2009-10 campaign when UE topped Oakland City (92-66) and SIU Edwardsville (76-46).  The last time Evansville picked up consecutive home wins by 25 points or more over two Division I teams was in the 1997-98 season when UE topped Morehead State 78-48 before downing Charleston Southern by a 96-67 final.
 
Next up for Evansville will be Murray State.  The Racers, who are receiving votes in both national polls, will face off against the Aces at 1:05 p.m. at the Ford Center on Saturday.  ESPN3 will televise the game.