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OXFORD, Ohio – D.J. Balentine posted a game-high 19 points to lead the University of Evansville men's basketball team to a 69-50 road win over Miami Ohio in the first road game of the season at Millett Hall.
 
Balentine shot 6-of-17 for UE (2-0) to lead all players.  He was followed by Egidijus Mockevicius, who hit 7 of his 8 attempts en route to 17 tallies.  He also led all players with 12 rebounds.  Rounding out the double figure scorers was Blake Simmons, who knocked down six out of seven shots en route to 12 points.
 
"Overall, there are a lot of good statistics to take from tonight.  We kept them off the foul line and were able to do well in many other parts," head coach Marty Simmons said.  "Egidijus did a great job for us tonight.  He had the flu bug earlier in the week, but was able to come in and do so many good things for us tonight."
 
Miami (1-1) was led by LJ Livingston, who scored 12 points on a perfect 6-6 day from the field.  Geovonie McKnight was just behind him with 11 tallies.
 
Behind four Egidijus Mockevicius tallies, the Purple Aces hit four of their first five shots on their way to an 8-2 lead.  He capped off the rally with a dunk on a great feed from Blake Simmons.  Miami began 1-5 from the floor.
 
The run for Evansville continued as Adam Wing and Mockevicius hit the next two shots, giving the Aces a 6-for-7 start to the game and a 12-5 lead.  Miami was solid over the remainder of the half, closing to within a pair at 22-20.  Evansville went scoreless over the span of five minutes, missing five shots and turning it over three times.
 
Despite the rally by the RedHawks, the Aces calmly finished the half on a run to take a 26-20 lead into halftime.  Jaylon Moore ended the scoreless stretch with a slam dunk on an assist from Jaylon Brown.  Brown was at it again in the closing ticks of the period as he blocked a Will Sullivan 3-point attempt and tossed it up the floor to D.J. Balentine, who found Mockevicius for a layup at the buzzer.
 
Mockevicius wrapped up the half with a game-high 12 points and 7 rebounds while hitting all six of his shots.
 
Out of the break, it was Mockevicius doing it once again, scoring on the old-fashioned 3-point play to give the Aces their first double figure lead at 33-22 just over two minutes into the period.  Will Sullivan responded with his second trey of the evening on the ensuing possession.  His bucket spearheaded a 7-2 run forcing Coach Simmons to call a timeout as the RedHawks cut the lead to 35-29 with 15:45 left in the game.
 
From that point on, it was all Aces.  The lead hit double figures once again as Balentine knocked down his first triple of the night with 12:48 left.  The daggers came later as Adam Wing, Brzoja and Balentine hit three treys in a row as UE took a 54-39 lead with under eight minutes remaining. 
 
 
The Aces were able to hold the lead from there as they cruised to the 69-50 triumph.  As a team, UE shot 57.1% on the night while the defense was strong, holding Miami to 39.6%.
 
Adam Wing kept up his solid start to the season, scoring nine on a 4-5 day.  Evansville had 17 assists on 28 makes as Duane Gibson finished with four helpers.  Rebounding also went the Aces way by a 33-24 final.
 
A trip to Florida awaits the Purple Aces next week as they will play in the Gulf Coast Showcase.  The action begins on Monday at 2:30 p.m. ET as the Aces take on Fresno State.  All three games of the tournament will be played at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla.