University of Evansville Athletics

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Facing an 8-point halftime deficit, the University of Evansville men's basketball team outscored IU Kokomo by a 46-28 margin in the second half to pick up an 80-70 win over the Cougars in Monday's season opener at the Ford Center.
 
Evansville shot 51.6% in the second half after finishing the first half at 38.2%. Defensively, the Purple Aces held IU Kokomo to 40.9% shooting in the final 20 minutes after they shot 61.5% in the opening stanza. AJ Casey recorded a game-high 19 points and 8 rebounds while Bryce Quinet and Makuei Riek scored 10 points apiece. Quinet picked up his first double-double as he added a career-high 11 assists. Joseph Annan Jr. paced the Cougars with 16 points.
 
IU Kokomo shot 61.5% in the first half and led for over 12 minutes including a 42-34 tally at the break. James Dyson-Merwe got UE on the board with a layup while Max Langenfeld connected from downtown to make it a 5-0 game out of the gate. After a bucket from Makuei Riek gave the Aces a 7-3 lead, the Cougars scored five in a row to take their first lead at 8-7.
 
AJ Casey quickly put UE back in front before Bryce Quinet hit a triple to give the Aces a 13-8 advantage five minutes in. Trailing 15-10, IU Kokomo scored 11 straight to take a 21-15 edge as the half approached the midway point. Riek hit a 3-pointer to end a 0-for-7 stretch. Casey followed up with a 3-point play to tie the score at 21-21 with nine minutes on the clock.
 
Over the next four minutes, the Cougars went on a 9-2 run to go up 30-23 and their lead would reach as many as nine in the final minutes. Evansville got within five points in the final minute before IU Kokomo hit a triple to finish the period and take a 42-34 halftime lead. Casey led UE with 11 points in the period.
 
Out of the break, the Aces opened on a 13-6 run to cut the deficit to one – 46-45 – at the 17:22 mark. Quinet had eight early points while Riek and Max Langenfeld each hit a triple. With 12:30 left, Aaron Gutman put his squad back in front with a layup to make it a 54-53 game. Gutman added a dunk that saw UE match its largest lead at 58-53.
 
Despite the deficit, IU Kokomo continued to fight as they remained within a possession until the final six minutes. A crucial stretch for UE saw them score eight out of nine points to open their first double figure lead at 70-60 inside of five minutes remaining. From there, the Aces finished strong to take the 10-point victory.
 
Turnovers made a huge difference in the contest as 19 IU Kokomo turnovers led to 26 UE points. Evansville turned the ball over just six times. The Cougars wrapped up the game with 33 boards while limiting UE to 30. UE is back in action Saturday with the River City Classic against USI.