EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In an epic battle that came down to the final buzzer, the University of Evansville men's basketball team outlasted Bradley to take a 73-70 victory inside the Ford Center. Ben Humrichous' 3-point play in the final minute put the Purple Aces on top before Antonio Thomas and Gage Bobe combined to go a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final seconds to seal the win.
Box Score
"Bradley is a really good team and are the defending champions in our league. We knew they were going to make a run," UE head men's basketball coach David Ragland stated after the win. "To be up 17 points and not only for them to chip away and tie the game and also take the lead, for our guys to respond and find a way, that says a lot about our character. We hit some big shots when we needed to. Every single punch that Bradley delivered – I thought our guys responded."
Wednesday's landmark victory put an end to an 11-game losing streak against the Braves. Over the last five games entering tonight, Bradley had beaten UE by an average of 35.8 points per game, including an 86-50 contest on January 10 in Peoria. The last Evansville win came on January 6, 2018 – a 68-44 win at the Ford Center. With the victory, UE earned its fourth victory in a row.
Humrichous led UE with 14 points along with a 5-of-5 showing from the line. Josh Hughes and Tanner Cuff posted nine apiece while Antonio Thomas scored eight. Kenny Strawbridge Jr. led UE with six rebounds and four steals while tying for the team lead with three assists. Bradley had four players in double figures with Duke Deen leading the way with 15.
Evansville's first two field goals of the night belonged to Yacine Toumi, who gave the Purple Aces a 4-2 advantage. Hitting four of their opening five attempts, UE extended the lead to 9-2 on a Ben Humrichous triple. Cam Haffner provided an immediate spark upon entering the game, draining back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 15-2 start. The defense for UE held the Braves to a 1-for-10 start with three turnovers in the first six minutes of the game.
Things continued to go Evansville's way as the lead reached 17 points at the 7:08 mark when a pair of Humrichous free throws extended the lead to 28-11. Tanner Cuff knocked down an outside shot in the run. As the half wound down, Bradley made its way back. Outscoring UE by a 16-4 margin over the remainder of the period, BU chopped the Aces lead to 32-27 at halftime.
A balanced attack was key to Evansville's success in the first half as all nine players who took the floor scored at least two points in the first 20 minutes. Haffner and Toumi led the Aces with six apiece at the break.
Hitting four of their first six attempts in the second half, BU tied the game at 36-36. Their defense held UE to a 1-of-7 start. They followed that up with a triple to take their first lead of the night. Facing their first deficit of the contest, Evansville hit its next four shots to jump back in front at 44-41. As the game entered its final 12 minutes, it was Gage Bobe taking his turn to shine, connecting from downtown to make it a 49-44 game.
Both teams continued to battle. After the Braves jumped in front at 54-51, Chuck Bailey III tied it up on a triple before Josh Hughes scored five in a row to put UE in front at 59-57 with 5:54 on the clock. Just over two minutes later, it was Kenny Strawbridge Jr. coming through in the clutch. He drained a trey to give Evansville a 63-61 edge.
Inside the final minutes of play, a Duke Deen field goal put BU on top by a score of 65-64. That would be their final lead of the game. On the ensuing UE possession, Humrichous converted a 3-point play to put Evansville back in the lead. Following a Bradley miss, Antonio Thomas was fouled and calmly knocked down both free throw tries. Thomas added two more from the charity stripe before Bobe hit a pair in the final ten seconds to solidify a 73-70 lead.
Down to its final possession, Bradley grabbed an offensive rebound following a 3-point miss. Connor Hickman made a last ditch effort to hit the game-tying triple; it sailed through the bottom of the net, but the ball left his hand a fraction of a second after the clock read all zeroes giving Evansville the win.
UE shot 42.6% for the contest with Bradley checking in at 42.4%. One of the most pivotal stats that finished in the Aces favor was points off turnovers as UE finished with a 16-2 advantage. Taking back to the road this weekend, the Aces will be at Murray State on Saturday for a 3 p.m. match-up.
