EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Blake Simmons scored 17 points, just one off of his career-high, To lead four double-digit scorers in a 98-56 victory over Oakland City on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.
"We did some things very well in the second half and we are hoping to build on that," Purple Aces (6-2) head coach Marty Simmons said. "Playing well and playing hard were two things we wanted to accomplish today. We passed the ball very well today and that is a real asset for this team."
Box Score (PDF)
Simmons' final of 17 points was the top tally in the game. He also notched five assists. Duane Gibson notched 14 points for his top total of the season while Noah Frederking and Marty Hill each hit four 3-pointers on their way to 12 points. K.J. Riley totaled nine points and nine helpers. John Hall and Evan Kuhlman each had their top games at UE. Hall hit four out of five shots to finish with 9 points and 7 rebounds and Kuhlman was 4-6 from the field on his way to 9 points and 8 boards.
"We wanted to execute and get better. Without Ryan, we are still trying to fill that void," Frederking said. "We really played well today."
Logan Worthington was the leading scorer for the Mighty Oaks (4-1) as he notched 16 points and 8 rebounds. Andrew Scott finished the day with 13.
Evansville notched the first two buckets of the game before Oakland City got on the board. Back-to-back triples gave them a 6-4 lead just over two minutes in. Another trey by OCU's Austin Robertson gave the Mighty Oaks a 9-7 lead before Noah Frederking got in on the scoring.
His long ball gave the Aces the lead for good at 10-9. The freshman connected on four of his seven 3-point tries in the first half as he led all players with 12 at the break. Also finding his shot from outside was Marty Hill, who played in his second game on Saturday. His shot saw UE take a 26-18 lead with eight minutes remaining in the half.
Oakland City kept the intensity up as they rallied to get within four points at 31-27 inside of three minutes remaining in the period. The Aces matched their effort, scoring the final eight tallies to take a 39-27 lead at the half. Frederking added two more triples in the final minutes to cement the 12-point advantage.
After regrouping during the halftime break, Evansville came out on fire in the second half, shooting an unbelievable 76.7% (23/30) while outscoring OCU by a 59-29 margin. The final score of 98-56 marked UE's highest lead of 42 points.
As a team, the Aces hit 11 out of 18 3-point tries while finishing the game shooting 66.7% (38/57) from the field. Along with its offensive prowess, the Aces also dominated defensively, outrebounding the Mighty Oaks, 40-23, while holding them to 36.4% shooting.
It is back to the road for the Purple Aces as they head north to Bowling Green, Ohio to face the Falcons. Game time is 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday. The game will be carried on ESPN3 while 91.5 WUEV will have the broadcast.
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