EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Trailing by as many was 14 points in the second half, the University of Evansville men's basketball team staged a furious rally in the final minutes before coming up just one point short in a 66-65 setback to Drake on Sunday inside the Ford Center.

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Box Score

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Connor Turnbull led all players with 20 points and a career-high 15 boards. He added three blocks in just over 28 minutes of action. AJ Casey had a solid 12-point, 4-rebounds effort while recording three steals. Alex Hemenway completed the day with 11 points. Jaeshon Thomas led the Bulldogs with 18 points.
 
"I just told our guys that it is hard to be in these games but it is even harder to finish them," UE head coach David Ragland said. "We had opportunities to win both of our MVC games but came up just short. We have given ourselves a chance to win each game and need to learn from our mistakes and get better."
 
Turnbull scored UE's first six points of the day as the Aces took a 6-5 edge four minutes into the game. After the Bulldogs retook a 7-6 lead, Evansville bounced back with seven in a row to go up 13-7 at the 13:07 mark. AJ Casey scored four points while Leif Moeller finished the stretch with a triple.
 
Drake cut the deficit in half at 15-12 before the Aces hit consecutive triples to take their largest lead of the half at 21-12. Alex Hemenway hit a 3-pointer with nine minutes on the clock while Kaia Berridge connected from downtown 46 second later to give UE a commanding lead and force a time out by the Bulldogs.
 
Following the stoppage, Drake hit a triple that opened a 17-4 run over the next six minutes. They improved on both ends of the floor as they grabbed a 29-25 edge with just over a minute remaining in the period. Their defense helped UE to one mark in its next seven attempts while their offense seven of its 14 attempts. Turnbull drained two late free throws to grab a 29-27 lead at halftime.
 
Out of the break, the Bulldogs scored the first six points to take a 35-27 lead. Up 40-33, Drake scored seven in a row to open their largest lead of the afternoon at 47-33 with 13:04 left in the game. Trailing by a 54-42 margin just past the midway point of the latter half, the Aces made their run. A Trent Hundley triple was followed up two Casey baskets before Leif Moeller added a pair of free throws that chopped the DU lead to just three at 54-51 inside of eight minutes remaining.
 
The Bulldogs scored the next five to go back up by eight before another Hemenway triple made it a 5-point game entering the final four minutes. Drake answered with yet another 3-pointer to retake a 62-54 edge, but UE answered once again scoring five in a row to get back within three. Hemenway converted a free throw before missing the second. Turnbull grabbed the board and turned it into a layup. Following a miss by Drake on the other end, Casey was fouled and knocked down both free throws to make it a 62-59 game with 2:45 left.
 
On their next possession, Drake hit a basket while Hemenway's third triple made it a 2-point game at 64-62. Heading into the final minute of play, Drake held a 66-64 advantage. After missing two free throw tries, Hemenway hit one of his two free throw tries to get his squad all the way back within a tally – 66-65. Unfortunately, the comeback fell short as the Aces missed their final three free throw tries while a triple inside the final 10 seconds fell short giving the Bulldogs the win.
 
Evansville shot 39.6% in the game while the Bulldogs hit 45.6% of their attempts. The Aces completed the game with a 35-34 effort on the boards.
 
Following the break for Christmas, the Aces will be back on the floor on Monday, Dec. 29 at Bradley.