EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 11th season of action at the Ford Center opens on Thursday when the University of Evansville men's basketball team takes on IUPUI in a 6 p.m. contest. ESPN3 and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the broadcast.
Last Time Out
- Evan Kuhlman and Blaise Beauchamp recorded 11 points apiece to lead the Purple Aces in Tuesday's season-opening 65-43 loss at Cincinnati
- Kuhlman hit 3 triples in the contest and added 6 rebounds while Beauchamp was 4-of-5 from the free throw line
- Noah Frederking set his career high with 8 rebounds while Shamar Givance had 7 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds
- UE held a 13-10 lead with 11:01 left in the first half before an 18-1 Bearcat run proved to be the difference
- Trailing by nine points at halftime, the Aces were unable to get any closer in the final 20 minutes
Scouting the Opponent
- IUPUI enters Thursday's game with an 0-1 mark following a 56-47 loss in their season opener on Tuesday at Butler
- Graduate student B.J. Maxwell led the Jaguars in scoring and rebound, recording 14 points while hauling in 6 caroms
- Bakari LaStrap came in off the bench to add 8 points
- The Jaguars outscored the Bulldogs by a 22-16 final in the paint and 20-8 in bench points, but a drought by IUPUI saw them miss 14 consecutive shots with Butler hanging on for the win
- Head coach Matt Crenshaw is in his first year at the helm of the program...he was most recently an assistant at Ball State and previously worked at IUPUI for 12 seasons
11th Season at the Ford Center
- Thursday's game against IUPUI will tip off the 11th season in the history of the Ford Center, which opened in 2011
- In ten season openers inside the building, the Aces have won on nine occasions with the lone loss coming to Buffalo in 2012
- Evansville opened the arena on Nov. 12, 2011, taking down Butler in a thrilling 71-68 overtime victory...the Bulldogs were coming off of their second National Championship game appearance in a row
No Place Like Home
- Opening the 2021-22 season in Cincinnati was a homecoming for Evan Kuhlman, who grew up in nearby Liberty Township, Ohio
- Kuhlman did not disappoint the hometown supporters, tying for the team lead with 11 points while chipping in 6 rebounds
- The effort continued a streak for Kuhlman that dates back to last season...he has now recorded double figures in each of the last seven games dating back to Feb. 17
- Averaging 6.0 points per game for his career, Kuhlman has recorded 13.6 PPG over that span
Consistent Start
- After averaging 12 PPG in UE's two preseason contest, Blaise Beauchamp followed that up with 11 points to open the regular season against the Bearcats
- He led the way with four free throw makes while hauling in 4 rebounds and adding a blocked shot
Depth Down Low
- Junior Antoine Smith Jr. has gotten off to a nice start to his UE career...in the regular season opener, he played close to 29 minutes while recording 3 points and 2 rebounds
- He made the start in the exhibition opener versus Mount St. Joseph and came through with 13 points and 3 caroms
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