Game Notes

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Coming off of a season-high 31 points against Murray State, D.J. Balentine and the University of Evansville men's basketball team are back home on Thursday for a matchup against Ohio University beginning at 8:05 p.m.
 
Prior to the men's game, the Purple Aces women take on Troy at 5:30.  Tickets are available by calling 812-488-ACES and may also be purchased at the door.
 
A last-second shot gave Murray State an 81-79 win over the Purple Aces on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.  D.J. Balentine set his season mark with 31 points, including 19 in the second half; he hit 13 out of 15 free throw attempts.  Egidijus Mockevicius finished with a season-high 14 rebounds while scoring 12 points for his 12th double-double in 19 games; he also blocked six shots.  Evansville trailed by as many as seven points in the second half before rallying to tie the game in the final seconds.
 
Having perhaps his best game of the year against Murray State was center Egidijus Mockevicius.  The junior from Vilnius, Lithuania finished with a season-high 14 rebounds, 12 points and six blocked shots.  Over the last 60 minutes of action, Mockevicius has been on the floor for 53 of those.  His efficiency on offense has continued; by making 4 of his 6 attempts against the Racers, he improved his season mark to 72.1%, tied for 6th in the nation.
 
Over the last five games, D.J. Balentine has put up an average of 25.8 points per game while leading the Aces to wins that included San Francisco, Wright State and Belmont.  Helping that pace has been his ability to take good shots. In the 5-game run, Balentine has shot 52.2% (43/84).  In the three games prior to his latest stretch, Balentine was 15-of-47 from the field while averaging 14.67 points.  Aided by a 13-of-15 effort from the free throw line, Balentine scored a season-high 31 points against the Racers and moved to the top of the MVC at 21.7 PPG.
 
Blake Simmons has gone a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe this season.  It is a solid improvement over last season where he connected on 67 out of 91 attempts (73.6%).  For the season, he is shooting 53.2% and has registered double figures in three games thus far.
 
Ohio University comes to the Ford Center with a 3-3 record after defeating Alcorn State by a 66-55 final last time out.  This marks just the second contest away from Athens this season for the Bobcats, who also played at Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 19. 
 
Four Bobcats average double figures, led by Javarez Wills, who has averaged 15.8 points per game; he also leads OU with 15 assists.  Maurice Ndour averages nearly a double-double for the Bobcats; his scoring checks in at 15.7 while he leads the way with 8.8 rebounds per contest; he is ranked fourth in the Mid-American Conference in both scoring and rebounding.
 
Over the course of five games played in the series, Evansville trails the Bobcats by a 3-2 margin.  The home team has been victorious in every game; last season, the Bobcats took an 81-59 win in Athens.  Feb. 27, 1989 was the last meeting in Evansville as the Aces took a 95-69 win.
The homestand for the Aces continues on Sunday afternoon as they take on Alabama State in a 1:05 p.m. tilt.