VALPARAISO, Ind. – Freshman Leif Moeller matched his career scoring mark with 26 points to lead the University of Evansville men's basketball team in a 70-63 overtime loss to Valparaiso at The ARC on Friday evening.
Box Score
Moeller, who also scored 26 last month against Bradley, was 8-of-13 from the field while going an impressive 5-for-6 from outside. He added five rebounds. AJ Casey completed the game with 16 points and a team-high seven boards while Josh Hughes registered 10 points. Three Beacons reached double figures with Owen Dease posting 18 points while Justus McNair and Carter Hopoi finished with 16 and 10 points, respectively.
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"We competed and guys did a good job responding after being down. We came out and popped them in the first few minutes of the second half and played the right way," UE head coach David Ragland said after the game. "I told the group that I do not question their heart or fight. There are just a few areas that we can control and be better at."
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Over the opening four minutes of the contest, the Beacons took a 7-4 lead as they hit an early 3-pointer. Trent Hundley hit a jumper to get the Aces within one point before the Beacons went on a run to take their largest lead of the half. Up 10-8, the Beacons scored seven in a row to open a 17-9 lead inside of the 11-minute mark.
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Josh Hughes hit a triple on the other end before a second-chance basket by AJ Casey made it a 4-point game. With 3:45 left in the period, Valpo took advantage of an offensive board to extend the lead back to seven points at 25-18. Casey responded with a dunk before a missed Beacon shot lead to a Leif Moeller triple that cut the deficit to a pair.
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The teams exchanged triples in the final two minutes with the Beacons taking a 28-26 halftime lead. Casey led all scorers with nine points.
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Evansville's offense came out firing on all cylinders to open the second half. Moeller knocked down his third triple of the contest to give UE its first lead, but the Beacons regained a 30-29 lead o the ensuing possession. Alex Hemenway, who went 0-for-4 from range in the first half, hit his first long ball to open an 11-0 run that gave UE a 40-30 lead with 16:25 remaining in the game.
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Just over a minute later, another trey by Moeller pushed the UE lead to 45-32. His triple capped a 7-for-7 start to the half by the Aces. A free throw by Moeller with 14:33 on the clock solidified a 46-34 UE lead. That is when the Beacons began their comeback with a 9-0 run over the ensuing four minutes to cut the gap to 46-43 heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.
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Following another triple by Moeller that doubled the lead to six points (49-43), Valparaiso got it rolling once again with a 12-0 rally to go back in front at 55-49 at the 6:55 mark. Josh Hughes' second triple a minute later trimmed the deficit down to three heading into the final minutes. With 4:26 left in the contest, a Beacon free throw gave them a 58-54 lead, which they would hold until a Moeller layup with 2:19 remaining made it a 2-point game.
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On its ensuing possession, the Beacons missed a triple and AJ Casey took it the other way to tie the game with a dunk with 71 seconds left. Both squads had opportunities to take the win in the final minute, however, the game went into overtime tied at 58-58.
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Valparaiso posted the first four points of the overtime period and would not relinquish the lead as the Beacons completed the night with the 70-63 victory.
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Valpo shot 41.3% in the game while UE was just behind at 38.3%. The Beacons grabbed 44 rebounds while limiting the Aces to 29. UE is back at the Ford Center on Monday evening to face Illinois State.
