EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Riding the momentum from its first win of the season, the University of Evansville men's basketball is back inside the Ford Center on Tuesday, welcoming Southeast Missouri State for a 6 p.m. tip. ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the broadcast.
Last Time Out
- All five starters finished in double figures as the Aces fended off a furious challenge to defeat Eastern Illinois by a 68-65 margin on Wednesday night
- Making his season debut, Jawaun Newton poured in a career-best 19 points
- Evansville led by 15 (34-19) at halftime before EIU rallied, hitting its first six shots of the second half and 9 out of 13 triples in the latter period
- The Panthers came all the way back to tie the game before Evansville wrestled the lead away in the final minutes
Set to make his Debut
- Tuesday's game will mark the first time sophomore Samari Curtis will be eligible for the Purple Aces
- After playing eight games at Nebraska last season, Curtis was a midyear transfer to Evansville and is set to take the floor following the official completion of the fall semester at UE
- Curtis was Mr. Ohio Basketball in 2019 after posting 33.8 points per game as a senior at Xenia High School
He's Back
- Making his season debut against Eastern Illinois, Jawaun Newton did not need much time to shake off the rust as he poured in a career-high 19 points in the big UE win
- Entering the game, Newton's career scoring mark was 13 points in February at UNI, but he did it all versus EIU, knocking down 11 of his 13 free throw attempts
- He added 6 rebounds and 3 assists while drawing 8 fouls on the night
Continuing the Success
- A season-high 15 points against EIU saw Evan Kuhlman raise he season average to 9.8 points per game
- It marked his second double figure outing of the season after he opened with 10 at Louisville
- The consistent senior has scored at least seven in all four games while hauling in at least two rebounds while hitting all four of his free throw tries
Scouting the Opponent
- SEMO enters Tuesday's game with a 2-2 record with wins over Kansas City and a home triumph versus Lipscomb
- Their losses both came in overtime to Southern Illinois and the road tilt at Lipscomb
- Four players average double figures led by Chris Harris and Nolan Taylor
- Harris paces the team with 18.3 points per game; he is a 46.3% shooter on the season and stands at 40.7% (11-of-27) from long range
- Taylor checks in with 12.0 PPG and is second with 6.5 caroms
- DQ Nicholas and Eric Reed Jr. check in with 11.0 and 10.3 points, respectively
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