Box Score


Box Score (PDF)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. –The University of Evansville men's basketball team used a combination of hot shooting and stifling defense to defeat visiting Trevecca Nazarene, 83-40, Saturday night at the Ford Center in its preseason opener.

Freshman Blake Simmons paced three Evansville players in double figures with 14 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Sophomore Adam Wing went 5-for-9 from the floor for 12 points and hauled in seven rebounds, while freshman Duane Gibson added 11 points and tallied five steals.

Evansville shot an event 50 percent from the field, as it drained 25 of its 50 field goal attempts, including a 59 percent clip in the second half (16-for-27), and held Trevecca Nazarene to a 23 percent shooting night by forcing 18 turnovers.

Both teams struggled to find their shooting stroke early in the contest, as the two teams combined to hit just three of their first 10 shots heading into the first media timeout, as Evansville held a 6-3 lead at the 15:32 mark.

Simmons capped a 7-0 run for the Aces with a pair of free throws to put UE in front 10-3, before Evansville's defense held Trevecca Nazarene without a field goal for over seven and a half minutes and extended the advantage to 16-5. The Trojans cut the lead to single digits at 18-10, when Taylor Clay connected on the lone three-pointer of the half with 8:35 remaining in the half.

The Aces' once again clamped down defensively and held TNU to just two points for the final 4:34 of the stanza and closed the half on a 12-2 run that was capped by a free throw from sophomore Christian Benzon.

Despite not hitting any of its six three-point attempts, Evansville shot 39 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes and was paced by junior Jaylon Moore's five first-half points. Defensively, the Aces held the Trojans to a 17 percent first-half shooting percentage, as TNU sank just five of their 30 shots from the floor in the half. In addition, UE forced nine first-half turnovers, while committing just four miscues.

Evansville started the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 39-12 lead and all but put the game away, when Simmons knocked down the Aces' first trey of the contest with 16:55 to play.

Jordan Miles ended UE's run on TNU's next possession, but Evansville would continue to pull away for the remainder of the half, extending its lead to as many as 46 points on a David Howard layup at the 1:27 mark that made the score 82-36.

The Aces shot 59 percent from the floor in the second half, hitting 16 of their 27 attempts. Trevecca Nazarene shot 30 percent (9-for-30) in the period and went 5-for-14 from beyond the arc for a 35 percent shooting percentage.

UE outrebounded the Trojans, 49-29, and posted a 42-14 advantage in the paint. Evansville also dominated the free throw line, as it went 29-for-36 from the charity stripe (81 percent), while TNU went to the line just 12 times, making only six of its attempts.

Evansville will wrap up its exhibition slate next Saturday, Nov. 2, when it hosts Illinois Springfield at 4:05 p.m.