Box Score Box Score

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Sophomore D.J. Balentine scored a career-high 33 points as the University of Evansville men's basketball team ended a 12-game losing streak on the road aginst Southern Illinois with a 75-69 victory on Saturday afternoon at SIU Arena.
 
Balentine knocked down 11 of his 20 attempts including 6 out of 10 3-pointers in hte effort.  He also grabbed a career-best 6 rebounds while dishing out five assists.  Egidijus Mockevicius earned the second double-double of his career, posting 12 points and 10 boards while Blake Simmons checked in with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
 
"I am happy for the guys in the locker room," head coach Marty Simmons said.  "They are a great group and have been battling.  It is great to see us get a victory."
 
Egidijus Mockevicius got UE on the board in the opening minutes before SIU took its first lead just over two minutes in at 4-3.  D.J. Balentine, coming off of an 8-point outing versus UNI, knocked down the first trey of the game as Evansville retook the lead at 8-6.
 
After missing its first two 3-pointers of the day, SIU hit three in a row as part of an 11-0 run as the Aces were held scoreless for a stretch of six minutes missing four shots.  Mockevicius was the hero once again, scoring a layup to stop the stretch with just under 11 minutes left.  Blake Simmons connected on his second basket of the day as UE cut what was as large as 10 points down to six.
 
Balentine posted seven-straight tallies for UE before Tyler Ptacek drained his first three of the day to get the Aces back within a pair at 27-25.  Over the final minutes of the period, Southern Illinois scored six of the final eight points go into halftime with a 33-27 advantage.  Balentine was the lone double-digit scorer of the half, totaling 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting. 
 
Out of the break, the Aces hit four of their first eight attempts as they roared back into the lead at 38-37 as Blake Simmons hit his first trey of the day.  His efforts, coupled with 13 Balentine points in the first seven minutes, helped UE open the half on a 17-4 stretch as they opened up their largest lead of the day at 44-37.  Later, a Mike Balogun trey cut the UE lead to just three as he connected on the fifth three of the game for SIU.
 
Desmar Jackson kept the run going as his old fashioned 3-point play put SIU back on top at 52-51 inside of 9 minutes remaining.  That is when Balentine took over once again.  His sixth three gave him a career-high at 33 points while giving the Aces a four point lead at 56-52.
 
With five minutes remaining, Mockevicius completed a 3-point play to set the lead at 63-56.  The lead remained at seven point inside of three minutes left as Jalen Pendleton completed the 3-point play to make it a 65-61 Aces lead.  One of the main possessions of the game came next as UE inbounded the ball with one second left on the shot clock.  Wing grabbed a miss and was fouled on an attempt.  After a hard hit to the floor, Wing calmly stepped to the line and knocked down both attempts to put the Aces back up by six.
 
Wing hit another free throw with 53 seconds left as UE matched its largest lead at seven points, but on the ensuing trip down the floor, Balogun hit his fifth trey to get SIU back within four tallies at 68-64 with 41 seconds left, but Duane Gibson hit both free throws on the next trip as UE went back up by six.  Southern Illinois continued to make it interesting as Jackson hit another 3-point play to get the Salukis back within a possession, but it was the freshmen who were clutch down the stretch.
 
Gibson hit all six free throws in the final seconds and Simmons was 1-2 as UE earned the 75-69 win over SIU.   
 
Gibson finished the night with eight points and four assists.  Adam Wing chipped in nine tallies to go with 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
 
For the game, the Aces finished shooting 42.6% marking their first victory of the year when shooting under 50%.  SIU, who was led in scoring by Balogun's 15, shot 40%.
 
Evansville remains on the road this week, traveling to Normal, Ill. for its annual visit to Illinois State.  The Aces and Redbirds will face each other on Wednesday evening at 7:05 p.m.