EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Wrapping up a stretch of three games in five days to open the regular season, the University of Evansville men's basketball team travels to Nashville on Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest at Belmont. The game will be carried live on ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network.
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Last Time Out
- One of the best defensive efforts in five years saw the Purple Aces hold IUPUI to just 40 points on the way to a win in the home opener on Thursday
- It marked the first time since 2016 that the Aces held an opponent to 40 or below and was the 10th win in 11 Ford Center home openers
- Four players reached double figures, led by 16 points from Shamar Givance, 13 from Evan Kuhlman and 12-point efforts by Jawaun Newton and Blaise Beauchamp
- Givance also led UE with 7 rebounds and 3 steals
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Scouting the Opponent
- Belmont comes into Saturday's contest with an 0-1 mark following a 92-80 loss at Ohio U. on Tuesday
- Junior Ben Sheppard tied his career mark with 25 points in the opener while Nick Muszynski recorded 18
- Grayson Murphy totaled a team-high 10 rebounds while chipping in 8 points
- The Bruins are coming off of a stellar 26-4 record last season on the way to their 12th regular season championship in 16 years and its seventh in nine seasons in the Ohio Valley Conference
- They return 97% of their offense from last season including Muszynski and Murphy, who were All-OVC honorees a season ago
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11th Season at the Ford Center
- The Nov. 11 game against IUPUI tipped off the 11th season in the history of the Ford Center, which opened in 2011
- A 60-40 win over the Jaguars improved the Aces record to 10-1 in regular season openers in the facility 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
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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
- He followed that up with 13 points and three more triples in the home opener against IUPUI and is currently UE's top scorer with 12.0 points per game
- The start to the season continued a streak for Kuhlman that dates back to last season...he has now recorded double figures in each of the last eight games dating back to Feb. 17
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A Defensive Clinic
- For the first time since Nov. 30, 2016, the Aces held an opponent to 40 points or fewer as the defense limited the Jaguars to 40 tallies on Nov. 11
- Prior to that, the last time Evansville did so was against Wabash in 2016...it was the first such effort against a Division I foe since 1/9/16 when the Aces held Bradley to just 35 points in a 67-35 home win
- The defense was able to hold each IUPUI scorer to single digits marking the first time an opponent has not had a double figure scorer since Drake on Feb. 25, 2014
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Consistent Start
- It was another nice offensive contest for Blaise Beauchamp, who scored 12 points while hitting three field goals and five free throws versus IUPUI
- That followed an 11-point night in the opener at Cincinnati
- In preseason action, Beauchamp averaged 12 PPG in two contests
- Through two games, Beauchamp has drained 9 of his 11 free throw tries while averaging 4.5 rebounds
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