Box Score (PDF)

ST. LOUIS – Four University of Evansville men's basketball players hit double figures as the Purple Aces earned an 83-72 win over Indiana State in the opening game of Arch Madness on Thursday night at the Scottrade Center.
 
With the win, UE (16-16, 6-12 MVC) will advance to play top seeded Illinois State on Friday at noon.
 
"Our guys are thrilled to advance and play Illinois State," UE head coach Marty Simmons said.  "Give Indiana State credit, we told our guys they would never quit and they did not.  Our guys were able to tighten things up and hang on.  We are very happy to get the win."
 
Jaylon Brown was the top scorer in the game, notching 27 points and 8 rebounds, both team highs.  It is the fifth game in a row that Brown has hit the 20-point mark.  Duane Gibson also hit the plateau, finishing with 20.  He was an efficient 6-of-7 from the field and hit 8 free throws.  Ryan Taylor finished the night with 12 points while Christian Benzon had 11.
 
Brenton Scott was the leader for Indiana State (11-20, 5-13 MVC) as he posted 17.  TJ Bell notched 15 points for the Sycamores while Everett Clemons notched 12.
 
Evansville's offense and defense were sharp in the first half as the Purple Aces shot 53.3% while holding the Sycamores to just 21.2%.  A triple by Niels Bunschoten gave ISU a 3-2 lead in the opening minute before the Aces got cranking.  Up 8-6, the Aces went on a 12-0 run, which was capped off by a triple from Jaylon Brown.
 
"We had some great practices before this game that really helped to give us the confidence to start well," Brown said.
 
Following a time out, Indiana State stopped the run with a triple, but the Aces kept it going.  Another 3-pointer by Brown saw UE hit 10 of its opening 15 shots to go up 25-9 less than eight minutes in.  The Sycamores got within 11 at 34-23 inside of the 4-minute mark, but Evansville responded with an 8-0 stretch as Duane Gibson posted five points.  The lead reached as many as 21 at 44-23 in the final minute before a late Sycamore basket saw UE head to the break with a lead of 44-25.
 
A 9-2 run in the first five minutes of the second half pushed the Aces lead to 26 points at 53-27 on Brown's third triple of the night.  Back-to-back triples by the Sycamores ended the stretch.  Indiana State continued to push its way back into the game as a layup from Jordan Barnes cut the gap to 10 at 70-60 with 2:38 left.  Seconds later, ISU cut the Aces lead to six at 76-70, but Evansville was able to hit its late free throws and hang on.
 
The Aces finished with a 46-37 rebounding edge while outshooting the Sycamores, 47.3%-33.8%.
 

• INFO: For all of the latest information on University of Evansville men's basketball, visit GoPurpleAces.com or follow the program on Twitter via @UEAthletics_MBB.

 

• DONATE: For information on giving to UE Athletics or its individual athletics programs, visit the DONATE tab on the top of GoPurpleAces.com.

 

• TICKETS: To purchase tickets for University of Evansville athletics events, log on to GoPurpleAces.com and click on the TICKETS tab on top of the page.