Game Notes

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On Saturday, the Purple Aces men’s basketball team looks to improve to 2-1 in the Valley as they will play host to Southern Illinois at 8 p.m. at the Ford Center.
 
Saturday’s game will be Military Appreciation Night as all military personnel (active and retired) will receive a free ticket to the game with their military id.  Family members of military personnel can purchase tickets for just $5.
 
The Aces are coming off of a thrilling 62-59 overtime win over Missouri State on Wednesday evening as Troy Taylor and Egidijus Mockevicius put forth career efforts in the win.  The victory marked the fifth in a row for UE over the Bears.
 
While it is hard to go up from having a triple-double, Troy Taylor gave it his best shot on Wednesday versus Missouri State as he finished with 19 boards.  It marked the first time a UE player grabbed 15 or more since Nate Garner did so vs. Western Kentucky on 12/13/08.  His effort versus MSU saw him rise to 5th in the league in rebounding with 7.6/game and third in defensive boards as 14 of his 19 against MSU were on the defensive glass.
 
Taylor is the No. 9 guard in the country with 106 boards, just four outside of the top five and is having one of the top seasons amongst rebounding guards in the last 25 years in the MVC, his average of 7.6 per game is second-best over that span, just behind Jayson Wells of Indiana State, who averaged 8.4 boards per contest in the 1997-98 season. 
 
Over the course of a career-high 32 minutes of action, freshman Egidijus Mockevicius had a career game in Wednesday’s overtime win against the Bears.  The native of Lithuania finished with a game-high 18 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting effort; he also connected on six of his nine free throw attempts.  Mockevicius also led the way with five blocks and eight rebounds; seven of his boards came off of the offensive glass; his block tally helped him move into a tie for 5th in the league with 1.4/game.
 
Following a hot start, Southern Illinois has dropped its last three contests to fall to 7-6 on the season; the Salukis fell in their first two MVC games at Missouri State and at home versus Bradley.   A solid shooting squad, the Salukis are third in the Valley, shooting 45.3%, Dantiel Daniels leads the way as he has hit 48 out of 74 shots this season, 64.9%.  Three SIU players average double figures led by Desmar Jackson’s 15.5 points per contest, 4th in the league; Jeff Early is just behind with 12.8 PPG while Daniels checks in with 10.8.
 
In the loss against the Braves, Jackson was the top scorer for the Salukis, posting 15 points and a team-high 7 rebounds; Early finished with 11 tallies and seven boards.  Free throw shooting was pivotal in their 66-60 loss to Bradley as they were just 13-of-23 while Bradley was 14/18.  SIU head coach Barry Hinson coached at Missouri State from 1999 through 2008 and faced Evansville 20 times while posting a 16-4 mark, Hinson was 6-3 in road contests at UE.
 
In one of its longest series in program history, UE is 49-65 versus the Salukis.  The home team has generally had the edge as Evansville is 34-22 at home while the Salukis hold a dominant 40-13 edge in games played in Carbondale.  Evansville is 5-2 in its last seven home contests versus SIU, but the Aces have struggled on the road as their last win in Carbondale came on February 24, 2001 when the Aces picked up a 79-74 victory.
 
Due to an overlap with the Indiana Pacers game on Saturday night, the telecast will be broadcast on Fox Sports Plus in the state of Indiana. 
 
Channel numbers for FOX Sports Plus in Indiana are:
Cinergy Metronet 3
Citizens 74
Comcast-Fort Wayne 9 or 82
Comcast-Indianapolis 82
Comcast-Shelbyville 81 or 82
Mediacom 126
New Wave-Greencastle/Vincennes 194
Time Warner-Evansville 2, 505 or 12.10
Time Warner-Newburgh 23
Time Warner-Terre Haute 13
WOW-Evansville 103
 
The game will also be joined in progress on the FOX Sports Indiana main channel at approximately 10 p.m. ET, immediately following Pacers postgame.  In all areas outside Indiana the game will air on the FOX Sports Midwest main channel.  The game will air on AT&T U-verse 748, DirecTV 671 and Dish 418.