Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Senior Denver Holmes hit a three with one second left in regulation to send the game to overtime before the Aces outscored Missouri State 13-8 in overtime to take a 75-70 win on the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.
 
Ned Cox led the way for UE (15-14, 9-9 MVC) with 17 points while Colt Ryan and Troy Taylor notched 12.  Kenneth Harris and Ryan Sawvell each had 11.  With the win, UE guarantees itself a Friday game at the MVC Tournament.
 
Missouri State (16-15, 9-9 MVC) began the game on fire, hitting its first three shots and its opening three free throws en route to an 11-3 lead in the opening minutes.  Jarmar Gulley hit a three in the first possession before Ned Cox hit one of his own seconds later.  The Aces began 1-of-5 from the floor.
 
Evansville made its first run of the game as Troy Taylor notched seven in a row before Denver Holmes knocked down a trey to cut the MSU lead to a pair, 17-15, with 9:43 remaining in the half.
 
After the Bears pushed the lead back to eight, Cox took over again, getting a dunk and a jumper to make it a 27-23 game in favor of MSU.  The Bears added to their advantage in the closing seconds of the period as Anthony Downing added three late tallies to give Missouri State a 34-26 lead at halftime.  At the break, MSU held a 21-12 rebounding edge while outshooting UE, 63.2%-32.3%.
 
Gulley opened up play in the second half in the same manner as the first, scoring the opening basket to give the Bears their first double figure lead.  Colt Ryan got going at that point. After scoring 43 at Creighton on Wednesday, Ryan was held scoreless in the first half.  That all changed in the first three minutes of the second as the junior spearheaded a 9-0 as he tallied five to cut the gap to 36-35.
 
The run continued as, for the first time since the opening tip, UE tied it up at 42 on a pair of Ryan Sawvell free throws.  Downing ended the run for MSU, connecting on a trey with 11 minutes left before Cox hit his second three to tie it up once again.
 
With under ten minutes remaining, Sawvell gave the Aces their first lead, hitting a layup to give UE a 47-45 lead.  The lead would be extended to four, 53-49, with 7:31 left in the contest.  With a chance to go up by six, a missed UE layup led to a 6-0 stretch by the Bears as they retook the lead.  The MSU defense also forced UE to miss five consecutive shots before Ryan broke the drought almost four minutes later.
 
His shot, coupled with a pair of Taylor free throws put Evansville back on top with just over two minutes left.  Two more free throws, these coming courtesy of Kenneth Harris, gave the Aces a 4-point lead seconds later, but Missouri State did not give up scoring the next five as Kyle Weems capped it off with a jumper to give MSU a 60-59 lead with 40 seconds left.
 
Ryan was called for an offensive foul, but on the inbound play, Taylor picked up the steal and found an open Cox, who missed an open jumper.  Downing hit a pair of free throws to put the Bears up 62-59 with 8.8 seconds left.  Down to its last hope, the Aces turned to senior hero Denver Holmes, who delivered once again, hitting a trey with one tick left to send the game to overtime.
 
Harris opened up the extra period with a layup before a potentially game-changing moment took place as Colt Ryan and Holmes were whistled for their fifth personal fouls in the next minute.  The Bears hit one out of four free throws to cut the UE lead to one.
 
Without their two leading scorers, Evansville failed to relent, extending their lead back to five as Cox and Harris hit four-straight free throws to make it a 68-63 game in favor of UE with under two minutes left in OT.
 
Evansville would push its lead to six, 71-65, in the final seconds, but with under ten ticks left, Gulley gave MSU hope with a three.  It was too little, too late as UE escaped with the 75-70 victory.
 
Gulley was the top scorer in the game, chipping in 20 for the Bears.  Downing had 17 while reigning MVC Player of the Year Kyle Weems had 13.  Missouri State outrebounded Evansville, 50-31, and finished with a .407-.379 shooting edge.
 
Evansville now awaits its seeding for next week's MVC Tournament in St. Louis.  Seedings will be announced following today's action.