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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The final regular season road game for the University of Evansville basketball team will take place on Wednesday evening as the Purple Aces face #10 Northern Iowa in an 8 p.m. contest on ESPN3.
Evansville scored just 14 first-half points as #13 Wichita State earned a 62-43 win over the Purple Aces on Sunday. Egidijus Mockevicius had his best game since returning from injury, posting his 16th double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 boards.
UE shot just 31.3%, but the defense for the Aces was stellar, holding the Shockers in check at 38.6%. UE finished with a 24-18 edge in points in the paint while the Aces bench outscored that of Wichita by a 12-8 final.
The Aces are finally getting healthy after injuries were piling up over the last few weeks. Mockevicius showed that he is close to normal with his stellar outing at Wichita State. The double-double was his first since the home game against Indiana State on January 27.
Taylor Stafford also played well against the Shockers, showing great aggressiveness in his 16 minutes of play. He went 2-4 from the floor and hit a 3-pointer while knocking down both free throw attempts to register seven points.
Northern Iowa enters Wednesday's match-up with a 26-2 record and a #10 ranking in the nation. UNI is 15-1 in MVC games with the lone loss coming to the Purple Aces in the opener on New Year's Day. Player of the Year candidate Seth Tuttle continues to pace the Panthers in scoring with 15.8 points per game and 6.5 rebounds. The #2 and 3 scorers for UNI have yet to start a game this year, but have been productive as Wes Washpun averages 8.5 points while Nate Buss enters Wednesday's game at 6.9 PPG.
Evansville leads the series against the Panthers by a 24-21 margin thanks to a 52-49 win over UNI on Jan. 1. UE is 7-13 on the road in Cedar Falls, but has won 17 out of 23 home tilts. The Aces have won two of the last three road games against UNI.
On Saturday, Evansville will play its final regular-season home game versus Illinois State. Heritage Federal Credit Union is sponsoring the game as tickets are just $10. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 812-488-ACES.
