EVANSVILLE, Ind. – K.J. Riley scored a game-high 15 points to lead the University of Evansville men's basketball team to an impressive 67-48 victory over defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Loyola on Tuesday evening inside the Ford Center in front of 5,049 fans.
Joining Riley in double figures were Marty Hill and Shea Feehan, who had 13 points apiece. As a team, the Aces (8-8, 2-1 MVC) shot 52.9%, which was their best outing of the season. Included in that tally was a 15-for-27 performance in the second half.
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"Our guys were tremendous tonight, it was a collective to come out and guard. They paid attention to every detail," UE head coach Walter McCarty said. "Everyone was really locked in, it was awesome to watch them play. They played as a group and gave everything up for the team. I am really proud of their effort, we beat a really good basketball team tonight. Our guys just played really well tonight, we finally saw some shots go in."
The shooting from outside was also strong as the Aces were 8-of-19, finishing at 42.1%. Hill tallied three while Noah Frederking and Feehan had two apiece. Dainius Chatkevicius, who totaled 8 points and 6 rebounds, knocked down the first triple of his career.
"It feels great, that is a tournament team. We just showed the conference what we can do and that we are a tough team to beat," Riley said. "In practice, we have been working on building our energy and playing our tempo. We just played today."
"We have proven that we are a top team in the Valley and can win this conference."
Defensively, the Aces held their opponent to 40.3% shooting or below as Loyola (9-7, 2-1 MVC) finished at 37.3%. Through three MVC games, Evansville's defense is giving up just 37.3% of its shots (69/185). Pacing the Ramblers was Marques Townes, who notched 14 points. Franklin Agunanne had 13 while Cameron Krutwig had 10.
"We were really engaged on defense, it started there," Feehan commented after the game. "We know we can score, but we rebounded and defended tonight. It was an awesome effort. It shows that we can play with anyone. Loyola was picked to win the league and went to the Final Four last year, so it builds a lot of confidence for us."
Evansville scored the first five points of the game as K.J. Riley opened the night with a layup before Marty Hill knocked down a 3-pointer. Six points by Rambler sophomore Cameron Krutwig gave them their first lead at 6-5 before Hill was true from outside for the second time, putting the Aces back in front at 8-6.
Hill's triple was the first of what would be a 13-0 UE run. The Aces hit five out of seven shots in the run while Loyola was 0-for-5 with three turnovers in the stretch. UE's lead remained in double figures over the remainder of the half, reaching as many as 13 before the Aces went the break with a 32-20 advantage. UE shot 50% (12/24) in the first half while holding Loyola to 8-of-24 (33.3%).
UE knocked down its first three shots of the second half to push its lead to 39-20 over the opening two minutes. Following a bucket by Riley, Noah Frederking connected on his second triple. Shea Feehan capped it off with layup as Evansville went 3-for-3 to open the period. Krutwig got LUC back on track and end the UE run.
The Aces continued to keep the pressure on. Loyola got within 16 points, but Evansville continued to answer on the other end. The lead reached 20 points (47-27) for the first time when Jawaun Newton hit a jumper on a nice feed from Evan Kuhlman. Dainius Chatkevicius converted and old-fashion 3-point play on the next possession to make it a 50-29 Aces lead with eight minutes remaining.
One of the most popular plays of the night came just seconds later. Following a time out, Chatkevicius received the inbound pass and drilled the first triple of his career to push the advantage to 53-31. Freshman Shamar Givance was next to star for the Aces. After a Loyola bucket, Givance ran the floor to convert his first bucket of the game. He forced a turnover on the next defensive possession and found Feehan in transition for a triple that gave Evansville a 58-34 lead.
From there, UE cruised to the 67-48 win. The lead reached as many as 25 points with 4:04 remaining. Riley tallied seven of the Aces' 17 assists while Givance posted four. Led by John Hall's eight rebounds, Evansville outrebounded Loyola by a 36-27 tally.
With a 2-0 home record with triumphs over two of the top teams in the league, the Aces look forward to a meeting on Saturday against Indiana State at 1 p.m.
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