EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Non-conference play comes to a close for the regular season when the University of Evansville men's basketball team plays host to Bellarmine on Wednesday evening inside the Ford Center. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ having the coverage. Fans will have the opportunity to get photos Purple Santa in the lobby of the Ford Center when the doors open at 6 p.m.
Last Time Out
- Up by 14 points at halftime, Ball State doubled its lead to as many as 28 in the second half on their way to an 88-69 win on Dec. 10 in Muncie
- UE closed the deficit to 19 points in the final minutes
- Leading the way for the Purple Aces was Marvin Coleman II who recorded 17 points while hitting three triples
- Kenny Strawbridge Jr. scored 15 while Antoine Smith Jr. checked in with 14
Top Scorer
- With his scoring average of 15.8 points per game, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. continues to lead the Aces while ranking 9th in the Missouri Valley Conference
- Scoring 25 points against Fairfield, Strawrbridge reached the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season
- His top scoring output of the season saw him register 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting
- Strawbridge is a 37.8% shooter in 2022, but his average over the last four games is 28.6%
No Fluke Here
- Three days after scoring a career-high 18 points against Campbell, Marvin Coleman II led the Aces with 17 points at Ball State
- Over the last two games, Coleman is 12-of-22 from the field and 7-for-11 from 3-point range
- In the win over Campbell, he set career-highs in scoring (18 points), field goals (7), triples (4) and minutes (38:20)
- The last two games have marked his first double-digit scoring games since the season opener at Miami Ohio
- Coleman entered the Campbell game hitting just two of his first 22 3-point tries but is 7-for-11 in the last two outings
- Over the last four games, Coleman has converted 19 out of 41 attempts (46.3%)...he opened the season hitting just 13 out of his first 70 field goal tries (18.6%)
Regaining His Form
- Entering the Campbell game, Antoine Smith Jr. was shooting 35.9% from outside but has found his shot over the last two games, hitting 7 of his 10 attempts
- Those efforts improved his season mark to 42.9%
- With one minute remaining in the Dec. 7 game against Campbell, he drained a triple that gave UE the lead for good; he completed the game with a season-high 15 points while draining 3 of his 4 outside attempts
- He has been on a roll over the last four games, averaging 12.75 points per game after recording a mark of 5.9 PPG through the opening eight contests
Scouting the Opponent
- Bellarmine is set to face the Purple Aces for the first time in Evansville
- It will be the third meeting in program history and the first since March 6, 1965
- The Knights are led by Garrett Tipton, who is recording 10.8 points per game
- Ben Johnson and Bash Wieland are just behind with 9.8 and 9.4 PPG, respectively
- Juston Betz has a team-high 4.7 rebounds per game and is tied for the top total on the squad with 30 assists
- Bellarmine has played a challenging schedule that has seen them play road games at Louisville, Clemson, Duke, UCLA and Kentucky
