EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Trent Hundley put together his top performance as a member of the University of Evansville men's basketball squad as he knocked down six 3-pointers on his way to 20 points in an 83-78 loss to Belmont on Tuesday at the Ford Center.

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Box Score

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Hundley's effort surpassed his previous Purple Aces high of nine points, which came on four occasions this season. He completed the game 6-of-10 from outside. Leif Moeller scored 17 points while hitting three triples. AJ Casey scored 12 points while Bryce Quinet added 10. James Dyson-Merwe recorded the top performance of his freshman season setting career marks with five points and nine boards.
 
"It was a huge positive for us tonight especially without Connor Turnbull," UE head men's basketball coach David Ragland said after the game. "I'm proud of the response our guys had. There are some things we can do to get us over the hump while being more disciplined."
 
Belmont scored the first six points of the night before the Aces got on the board thanks to a Keishon Porter bucket. The Bruins continued their hot start, opening a 9-2 advantage before UE made its way back. Helped by a Josh Hughes 3-pointer, UE made it a 9-7 game. 
 
At the 14:32 mark, a tip-in by James Dyson-Merwe tied the score at 12-12. Belmont posted the next four points while Trent Hundley connected from downtown to get UE within a point at 16-15. The Bruins regained control with a 10-0 run to take a 26-15 lead at 8:36 remaining in the half. Sam Orme hit a pair of triples during the rally. 
 
AJ Casey scored on a second-chance basket just over a minute later to cut the Belmont lead to 26-19. Another triple – this one by Eoin Dillon – opened a 10-2 run that gave the Bruins their largest lead of the half at 36-21 inside of the 5-minute mark. The Aces cut into the deficit over the next two minutes as Hundley's second triple was followed by a 3-point play by Bryce Quinet that got UE within eight at 36-28.
 
Five free throws in the final minutes saw Belmont regain its double figure lead at the break – taking a 41-30 lead into the locker room. Their defense held Evansville to 29.0% shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Hughes led the team with seven tallies at the break.
 
After scoring two points in the opening stanza, Leif Moeller knocked down a triple to begin the second half. Casey followed with his second 3-pointer of the season to cut the Belmont lead to 41-36. The Bruins countered with a 10-2 stretch to go back up by 13 with 16:05 on the clock before Trent Hundley put the Aces squad on his back. Consecutive treys got Evansville within seven – 51-44 – inside of 13 minutes remaining.
 
One minute later, he drained another triple before Kaia Berridge converted a pair of free throws that got the Aces back within four tallies – 53-49. Once again, the Bruins answered, regaining a 10-point lead as the game entered the final 10 minutes when a Drew Scharnowski dunk gave them a 61-51 edge.
 
The lead for Belmont stayed within 2-3 possessions until the Aces staged a furious rally in the final minutes. Two Bruin free throws established a 75-67 lead with 2:36 remaining. Moeller hit a layup before a Casey steal led to a triple by Moeller that cut the gap to 75-72. After Belmont went back up by give, a 3-pointer banked in by Casey got Evansville all the way back within a single point at 77-76. Unfortunately, the Bruins held strong over the final second, hanging on for the 83-78 win.
 
Tyler Lundblade paced the Bruins with 21 points while Scharnowski had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. The Bruins show 48.3% while holding UE to 37.7%. They also had a slight rebounding edge at 38-37.
 
UE looks to pick up a conference win on Sunday when Drake comes to town for a 3 p.m. game.