EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Opening a 2-game homestand, the University of Evansville men's basketball team welcomes Drake to the Ford Center on Saturday afternoon. Tip is set for 3 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ having the coverage.
Last Time Out
- Another late rally came up just short on Tuesday at Southern Illinois
- After trailing by as many as 20 points in the first half, the Purple Aces got within six points in the final minute before falling by a score of 77-70
- Resetting his career scoring high once again was Marvin Coleman II who hit 9 of his 13 attempts to finish with 25 points
- Chris Moncrief enjoyed the top game of his career as he tallied 6 points, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds in 25:06 - all career-bests
- For the second time in his UE career, Gage Bobe reached double figures with 11 points
Another Career Best
- Hitting 9 of his 13 shots at Southern Illinois, Marvin Coleman II reset his career scoring high with 25 points
- Over his last 10 games, Coleman is averaging 15.7 points while shooting 50.9%
- Coleman had just one double figure scoring game in his first ten contests this season while averaging 5.4 points...since then, he has reached double digits in 9 of the last 10 games
- Following the first 10 games, Coleman was shooting 22.5% (20/89) from the field and 9.1% (2/22) from outside...he has hit 57 of his last 112 attempts (50.9%) and 20 of his previous 40 outside tries
- Before his 25-point game at SIU, Coleman had his first 20-point game at Missouri State, finishing with 22
Settling In
- In the road game at Southern Illinois, Chris Moncrief recorded career-bests in points (6), assists (5), steals (4), rebounds (3) and minutes (25:06)
- The game continued a recent trend that has seen the freshman become more comfortable with the college game
- Over his first 13 games, he did not play more than 17 minutes but over the last three, he has been on the floor for at least 23 minutes
- Moncrief recorded two blocks in games at Bradley and home versus Valparaiso
Another Double Digit Outing
- For the second time in his UE career, Gage Bobe reached double figures as he totaled 11 points at Southern Illinois
- Bobe hit 3 of his 6 outside attempts and is shooting 48.1% (13/27) from long range since Dec. 21
- His career game came on Dec. 21 against Bellarmine where he posted 12 points and was 4-for-7 from 3-point distance
Scouting the Opponent
- Drake heads to the Ford Center on Saturday with a 14-6 record and a 5-4 mark through their opening nine MVC contests
- The Bulldogs had a 3-game win streak halted on Wednesday when Missouri State picked up a 65-62 overtime win in Des Moines
- Prior to that, Drake defeated Murray State, Bradley and UIC
- Tucker DeVries has established himself as one of the top players in the Valley and comes into the game averaging 18.6 points per game along with 6.0 rebounds
- Roman Penn checks in with a 9.8 PPG mark
- Darnell Brodie is third with 8.8 points and leads the team with 7.4 rebounds
