Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Senior Denver Holmes hit a pair of three-pointers in the final 19 seconds, including one in the final second, to give the University of Evansville men’s basketball team a 63-62 win over Northern Iowa on Wednesday evening at the Ford Center.
 
“It was a great play and a great pass,” Holmes said when talking about the game-winner.  “I had a little too much muscle on it, but it banked in.”
 
Holmes finished with 14 points on the night while Colt Ryan led all scorers with 20.  Lewis Jones notched ten for the Aces (13-13, 8-8 MVC), marking his first double-digit outing since hitting a career high of 24 in the win over Missouri State.  Northern Iowa fell to 17-11 and 7-9 in the MVC with the loss.
 
“This is tough in a way, I have a lot of respect for their (UNI’s) program, but I think we were due for something like this,” head coach Marty Simmons said.  “I was taught a long time ago that good things come to those who work hard.  I am happy for our players; it was special seeing the looks on their faces after that one.”
 
Deon Mitchell got the Panthers on the board in the opening possession before Colt Ryan gave the Aces their first lead of the game just over three minutes in on a layup that made it 4-3.  Ryan’s bucket began a 7-0 run that gave UE a 9-4 edge with 15 minutes left in the half.
 
Evansville began to utilize the three-ball en route to a 17-8 advantage.    Ryan and Ned Cox connected on back-to-back treys.  Ryan also was successful on five of his first six attempts to notch 12 of UE’s opening 20 points.  Northern Iowa took its turn from long range, hitting two threes in a row to get back within a possession at 24-21 with 8:27 remaining in the opening period.
 
Just when it looked like the Aces were ready to pad their advantage, UNI went on a run.  Up 32-25, UE turned the ball over on an inbound play, which led to six-straight UNI points.  Lewis Jones ended the stretch with his bucket at the 2:42 mark.  Evansville reeled off the final four points of the half, going into the break up by a 36-31 tally while keeping Northern Iowa scoreless over the final 3:22 of the period.
 
Both squads shot 50% or better in the period while the Aces defense forced UNI into eight first-half turnovers.  Ryan was the only player in double figures in the stanza, notching 12, all coming in the opening nine minutes.
 
The Aces slowly extended their lead in the opening minutes of the latter half, finding themselves up by eight points (44-36) on a Cox jumper with 15:28 left.  An and-one by UNI quickly cut the deficit back to five. 
 
For the first time in the game, Evansville found itself up by double figures as Ryan’s second three-pointer with 13:20 left in the game gave the Aces a 49-39 edge.  UNI answered right back as Chip Rank became the first Panther to notch ten in the game, hitting a three just seconds later.  Rank’s bucket spurned a 7-0 run, which was capped off by consecutive putbacks, making it a 49-46 game inside of 12 minutes remaining in the contest.
 
Northern Iowa’s run turned into a 13-0 stretch that saw them retake the lead at 52-49.  The Panther defense forced UE to miss five shots in a row to go along with three turnovers.  Seth Tuttle notched six points in the run before Jones once again put the Aces back on the board with a bucket to make it 52-51 with 7:50 left.
 
The back-and-forth second half continued.  With Northern Iowa hanging onto a 55-53 edge with less than five minutes left, Ryan knocked down his third three-pointer to put UE back on top before Tuttle scored his seventh bucket to give the Panthers a 57-56 lead.   
 
The exciting contest came right down to the wire.  With 1:38 left, a Ryan Sawvell free throw cut the UNI lead to 59-57 and following two missed shots by the Panthers, Evansville got the ball back with 30 seconds remaining.  A three by Holmes with 19 seconds left gave UE a 60-59 lead, but a trey by Johnny Moran with five seconds left saw the Panthers go back on top. 
 
With their backs against the wall, the Aces responded once again.  With less than a second left, Holmes hit his second three in the final 19 seconds, banking the ball in off of the backboard.  After reviewing the play, 0.5 seconds were put on the clock, but it did not make a difference as the Aces picked up the win.
 
Tuttle was the leading scorer for UNI with 16 points.  The freshman connected on 7-of-10 shots.  James had 13 while Rank notched ten. 
 
Western Illinois is up next for UE in its 2012 Sears Bracketbusters game.  The Leathernecks come to the Ford Center on Saturday evening for a 7:05 p.m. game.  Fans are reminded that some tickets may have originally been printed with the date being February 17th and those WILL be honored for the game.  Please call 812-488-ACES with any questions.