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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Four out of the first five games for the University of Evansville men's basketball team were away from home, but the team returns home for seven of its next eight.  That stretch begins on Tuesday as the Purple Aces welcome Wright State to the Ford Center for a 7:05 p.m. game.
 
It is back to the Ford Center for the Purple Aces with seven of the next eight games set to take place at home.  UE had a successful trip to Florida for the Gulf Coast Showcase as the team earned wins over Fresno State and San Francisco.  D.J. Balentine averaged 16 points per game on his way to All-Tournament Team honors; his top effort was 23 points in the finale versus San Francisco.  Jaylon Brown posted a career-best 15 points versus the Dons; he hit 7 out of 10 attempts while hauling in five rebounds.
 
A 14-point, 14-rebound effort versus San Francisco gave Egidijus Mockevicius his 10^th double-double in the last 15 games.  Mockevicius is the MVC leader in shooting (68.4%) and rebounding (9.4/game) after leading in both statistics last season.  He is looking to be the first player since the league has kept statistics to lead both stats in consecutive years.  His touch from the free throw line has gotten better and better, over the last 22 games, he has downed 71 out of 88 attempts.  This season, he has knocked down 11 out of 13 from the charity stripe, 7th in the MVC.
 
Jaylon Brown had the best game of his career in the win over San Francisco as he knocked down 7 out of 10 shots to finish with a career-high 15 points while seeing 30 minutes of action and notching 5 rebounds.  For the season, he is averaging 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds; his numbers last season finished at 3.9/2.0.  Brown has also developed confidence in his jumper, which is an asset that is sure to benefit the Aces moving forward.
 
D.J. Balentine started the game against the Dons by hitting five of his first six shots before finishing the game with a season-high 23 points en route to a berth on the Gulf Coast Showcase All-Tournament Team.  In the three games prior to USF, he hit just 15 out of 47 attempts, but has still managed to score at a solid rate, averaging 14.7 points over that span.
 
In the 2013-14 season, the Aces struggled with 3-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot 35.6% from outside, a tally that was ninth in the conference.  The 238 makes and 668 attempts were the most in program history (opponents made 7.0/game and attempted 19.64).  This season has been a total turnaround as the Aces pose the top defense in the conference allowing just 26.8% of the opponents' long range shot to find the bottom of the net.  Opponents are making just 4.4 per game while attempts are down to 16.4.
 
Wright State comes to the Ford Center with a 4-3 mark following a 56-51 win over USC Upstate in the Spartanburg Marriott Upstate Classic.  Four players average double figures led by J.T. Yoho, who has notched 19.5 PPG while starting three contests; he also leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game.  Chrishawn Hopkins has started all seven games, posting 14.6 points.