Game Notes
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Missouri Valley Conference play is rounding the homestretch and the Purple Aces men’s basketball team looks for a huge win in the standings as it faces Illinois State on Wednesday evening beginning at 7:05 p.m. inside the Ford Center.
Fans are reminded of UE’s Social Media Promotion; by going to the Aces’ Facebook and Twitter, pages, you can find a voucher that is good for a $5 ticket to Wednesday’s game.
In a hard-fought game on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center, it was Creighton coming away with a 71-68 victory. The Aces were up at the half by a 36-31 tally before Creighton hit 13 out of 22 attempts in the second period to rally for the win.
Ned Cox notched 18 points while hitting four 3-pointers and hauling in four rebounds.
With his 13-point effort against Creighton,
Colt Ryan moved up to No. 2 on the UE all-time scoring list, passing Marcus Wilson; Wilson finished his career at Evansville with 2,053 points while Ryan now stands at 2,061; he is just the third player for the Aces to ever reach 2,000 points in his career.
Ryan has his sights set on the top spot, which is occupied by all-time great Larry Humes, who set the school record with 2,236 points in his career, which lasted from 1963-66. Along with his rise up the UE list, Ryan has also made his mark on the all-time MVC scoring list as his tally puts him in 12th place, just three points behind Roger Phegley; Phegley is a former Bradley standout who played for the Braves between 1974 and 1978.
In Saturday’s game versus Creighton, freshman
Adam Wing made the first start of his career and responded with his top game as a member of the Purple Aces. Playing a career-best 29 minutes, Wing set career marks in several categories including: points (10), rebounds (7), minutes (29) and 3-pointers (2). Wing got the job done on both sides of the floor, recording a steal and three defensive boards while notching ten points, two assists and three offensive caroms on the other end of the floor.
Through the first 19 games of the season,
Egidijus Mockevicius played 20 minutes or more on just four occasions. Since the home game versus Bradley, he has gotten his chance to play more minutes and has responded in a big way. Mockevicius has seen 20 minutes of action or more in six of those eight games while playing 36 minutes on two occasions; after posting 16.6 minutes and 3.7 rebounds through the first 19 games of the seasons, the frosh has played 23.9 minutes while hauling in 7.1 rebounds per game in the eight games since.
After starting MVC play with a 0-6 mark, Illinois State has gone 7-2 since to stand at 16-11 overall and 7-8 in league play. The Redbirds are another strong shooting team, hitting 46.2% of their attempts, 46th overall; inside the arc, they are at 52.8%, 22nd overall. ISU is an unselfish team that averages 15.5 assists per game (31st in NCAA) while posting an average of 70.9 possessions per game, top of the league and 47th in the country.
Jackie Carmichael leads the way for the Redbirds with 18.1 points per game along with 9.3 boards, tops in the league. Tyler Brown has averaged 16.7 PPG, but has cranked it up as of late, averaging 21.4 points in his last five games while registering 22 assists over that span.
Illinois State was victorious in the first meeting this season in Normal, taking a 67-62 victory. Carmichael finished with 24 while Brown tallied 23 to lead the Redbirds to the win; Carmichael also finished with a game-high 13 boards. Leading UE as Ned Cox with 18 points and Colt Ryan with 17; freshman #D.J. Balentine# notched 14. Evansville rallied from a 9-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the second half, but Carmichael and Brown were strong down the stretch.
This weekend will mark the final game of the Ramada BracketBusters series. For just the second time in program history, UE will take on Wright State. The Aces travel to Dayton, Ohio for the game, which is slated to begin at 1 p.m. CT.
