Box Score


Box Score (PDF)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – It may seem mathematically impossible, but sophomore #D.J. Balentine# posted his third 29-point effort in a row as the University of Evansville men's basketball team used a 15-3 second half run to top Mercer by an 89-76 final on Monday evening at the Ford Center.
 
Balentine put forth his third game of 29 points in as many contests for Evansville (3-0) as he hit 7 out of 16 shots and was extraordinary from the line, draining 14-of-15 attempts.  Just behind him was freshman Duane Gibson, who has continued to evolve in a short time.  The Cleveland, Ohio native finished the night with 23 points on 6-9 shooting and a stellar 11-for-12 showing from the free throw line.
 
Adam Wing was the other double digit scorer for UE, tying his career mark of 15 points on an efficient 5-6 shooting night where he hit three treys.  Egidijus Mockevicius had 8 points and a team-high 8 rebounds in 19 minutes while Jaylon Brown was strong off the bench, chipping in 7 tallies.
 
"I am so proud of our team, this is one of the most difficult teams that we had to prepare for," UE head coach Marty Simmons said.  "We are fortunate that we had the time to prepare for them.  What makes this win so special is the amount of respect that we have for that team."
 
Leading Mercer (2-2) was guard Langston Hall, who totaled 25 points while connecting 11-of-12 free throws.  Jakob Gollon tallied 11 while Daniel Coursey had 10.
 
Evansville's game plan in the early going was to feed the ball to Egidijus Mockevicius as he took three shots in the opening two minutes of play with one marking the first points of the game for UE.  A minute later, freshman Duane Gibson hit an old-fashioned three point play as he put the Aces up 5-4.
 
Mercer battled back to take an 11-6 lead, draining four of their first seven shots in the first four minutes.  Adam Wing took matters into his own hands at that point, hitting a trey before Mockevicius found him cutting to the basket for a fade on the ensuing possession.
 
Wing continued his success, knocking down his first three shots of the game as UE hit six of its opening nine attempts to take a 17-16 advantage.  Langston Hall scored four points as the Bears made the next run on their way to a 23-19 lead before UE had an answer once again.  And once again, its was the freshman Gibson hitting another and-one before Ryan Sawvell hit a short jumper to put the Aces back on top at 24-23.
 
As they had done each time in the first half, the Bears absorbed the UE's runs and regained control.  This time, they reeled off nine in a row, a run capped off by a Bud Thomas trey to open up their largest lead of eight points (32-24) with 6:33 remaining.  Mockevicius ended the run with a pair of free throws before Balentine connected on two buckets to bring UE within one at 32-31 with four minutes left.  Anthony White Jr. ended the stretch with his second bucket from long range.  The Bears padded their advantage in the final minutes of the period before taking a 41-38 advantage into the locker room.
 
Out of the break, Balentine reached double figures, knocking down two jumpers in the first 1:17 of the stanza with his second tying up the game at 43-43.  Two minutes later it was Gibson becoming the third Aces player in double figures, giving the lead back to UE.  Balentine led the way in what would be a 10-0 rally with four points as the Aces took their largest lead at 53-46 less than three minutes into the latter half.  Just as big as the scoring in that run was that Mercer center Daniel Coursey picked up his fourth personal foul in that time.
 
Evansville's lead continued to hold strong at the 11:29 mark as two Balentine shots from the line made it a 62-55 edge.  Mercer showed some resiliency as they utilized a 5-0 stretch over the next minute before UE matched its largest lead of eight at 68-60.  Inside of 7 minutes remaining, a pair of Gibson free throws gave UE the first double figure lead by either team at 72-62.
 
A potential turning point took place on the next trip down the floor for UE as the Aces missed an open dunk.  That led to a Bear bucket that cut the gap back to eight points.  That ended up being just a bump in the road as Balentine and the Aces extended their edge to 15 points with 2:09 left.  At that point, Mercer made a furious rally, scoring the next seven points to get within eight points in just 34 seconds, but two Gibson free throws ended that stretch.
 
Those free throws set UE back on track as they completed the second-half rally by taking an 89-76 win.  After trailing by a 41-38 score at the half, Evansville shot 61.9% (13-21) in the second period to finish at 54% for the game.  Mercer was true to 56% of their attempts in the first half, but the Aces defense held them to just 11-33 (33.3%) in the latter half.
 
Another contributing factor to the second half turnaround was rebounding.  At the break, MU held a 16-13 edge on the boards.  Following the break, UE pounded the boards to the tune of a 23-12 tally to finish with a +8 advantage.
 
"I give all of the credit to my teammates for feeding me the ball and for the coaches putting me in great position," Balentine said.  "They are a really good team and when March comes, this is a great win for our resume." 
 
On Wednesday, the Aces will be back in action at the Ford Center as they face Valparaiso.  The Crusaders are 2-2 on the season.  They opened up the year with home wins over Murray State and North Park before falling in road matches at Illinois and Ohio University.  Tip is set for 8:05 p.m. and is a doubleheader with the women, who take on Ball State at 5:30 p.m.