University of Evansville Athletics

2015-16: Set all-time program scoring mark with 2,464 career points, breaking the mark on February 6, 2016 at home against Missouri State…led the MVC in scoring for the 3rd year in a row with 20.5 points per game, Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson were the only other two to accomplish the feat…named an All-MVC First Team player for the third season in a row…finished his career as the active leading scorer in the NCAA and was the #4 scorer in MVC history…started all 34 games a senior playing 35 minutes or more on 25 occasions…shot 44.2% on the season while notching 20.5 PPG…was also a 78.4% free throw shooter…scored 20+ points 19 times with his season high of 32 coming at Murray State…in that overtime road win, Balentine was 12-20 from the field while playing 43 minutes…played all 45 minutes in another road OT win at Southern Illinois as he hit the game-tying triple at the buzzer to send the game into the extra session.

2014-15: Named a First Team All-MVC Player for the second year in a row…he was the third UE player to earn MVC First Team honors on two occasions, joining Marcus Wilson and Colt Ryan…was the Most Valuable Player of the CIT, averaging 27.2 points per game in five tournament efforts…led the MVC in scoring for the season with 20.1 points per game, that put him 15th in the nation…was a 2-time MVC Player of the Week as a junior…completed his junior season with 1,766 career points, 5th on UE’s all-time list…led the Aces with a total of 116 assists on the season…hit double figures in all but three games…made the start in all 36 games and led the league in minutes with 36.6 per game…began the year with 22 points against Earlham…next 20-point effort was in the win over San Francisco as he hit 8 buckets to finish with 23 points…that was the first of 8-consecutive games scoring 20 or more points…had 28 against Wright State before scoring 31 against Murray State and 32 versus Coppin State…top game in MVC play was a 25-point outing in home win over SIU…hit 10 out of 13 free throws in the game…scored 24 points as the Aces picked up a home triumph over Drake…took his game into a new level in the CIT…in opener against IPFW, set season mark with 35 points, hit his first nine shots to tally 23 in the first half alone…had 22 at Eastern Illinois before registering another 35-point outing at Louisiana…hit 11 shots, 9 out of 10 free throws and four triples in the win…in his first four CIT games, connected on 18 out of 30 treys…led UE to the CIT finals with 28 points against UT Martin as he played all 40 minutes…in the championship win over Northern Arizona, he scored 16 points while knocking down 8 free throws in 36 minutes.

2013-14: Finished the season averaging 22.8 points per game, tops in the MVC and 7th in the nation...voted to the All-MVC First Team...named to the 2014 MVC All-Tournament Team...earned a spot on the MVC Most Improved Team...voted MVC Player of the Week on three occasions...NABC All-District Second Team...posted 22 games scoring 20 points or more...tied for 5th in the nation making 216 free throws...his 216 free throws marked the second-most in program history...with 752 points, he had the top sophomore scoring effort in the UE record book...his 22.8 points per game was 10th-best ever for UE...tallied 4.2 assists per game, third in the MVC...led the Valley in free throw shooting at 84.7%...posted 2.4 3-pointers per game (2nd in MVC) while shooting 39.8% from outside (6th in MVC)...led the MVC in minutes, playing an average of 37.9 per game...that total was tied for 4th in the country...played all 40 minutes (and 45 in an overtime game) in 13 contests...began the season scoring 29 points or more in the opening five games...went 9-14 in the opener vs. Martin Methodist while posting a career-high 9 assists to finish with 29 points...scored 32 in win over Valparaiso, went 8-14 frmo the field while hitting all 10 free throws...hit an efficient 10 out of 11 attempts vs. Anderson including all three treys to finish with 29 tallies...led the Aces to their to their first win in 12 tries at SIU, set a then-career mark with 33 points going 11-20 from the floor while tying his high with 6 rebounds...tied career-high with 6 3-pointers at SIU and at Illinois State, set mark for long range attempts with 13 at ISU...was lights out at UNI, totaling 43 points...was 10-19 from the floor while going 19-21 from the free throw line, marked the first 40-point game for UE in two years...helped the Aces take a home win over Illinois State by scoring 38 points...set career marks with 20 made free throws and 25 attempts while playing all 45 minutes...capped off the season by scoring 30 against Drake and 31 versus Wichita State at the MVC Tournament...those performances helped him clinch a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

2012-13:  Posted the top freshman season on the offensive side since Colt Ryan in 2009…earned a berth on the MVC All-Freshman Team in 2013 for his efforts…averaged 8.1 points per game, third on the team while playing in all 36 games, making one start…was voted onto the MVC All-Bench squad…averaged 9.3 PPG over the final 8 games of the year…named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 10 averaging 15 points in games against Miami (OH) and Murray State…set career mark with 26 points at Colorado State, the top scoring game by a UE freshman since Colt Ryan in 2009…first double-figure game came against Yale, scoring 16 points…notched 11 in win at Tennessee Tech before his career effort at Colorado State…hit 10 shots, including 6 out of 10 treys on his way to 26 against the Rams…notched 15 in the next two games (Miami OH and Murray State)…hit double figures in four of the next 19 games before rebounding with 18 points at Wright State, hitting 7-of-12 shots and four 3-pointers…had 7 assists in regular-season finale against Indiana State…set mark with 34 minutes played at Tennessee Tech.

At Kokomo: Played basketball for four years at Kokomo and left as the No. 3 scorer at the school...scored 1280 points in HS, an average of 17 PPG...averaged 18.2 PPG as a senior along with four rebounds and three assists...named an Indiana All-Star while being nominated for Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana...won the Pittsburgh Jamfest in his junior campaign.


Why UE?   “It is a great fit and felt right.  I really like the players and coaches.”


Personal:

Parents: Dennis and Joy Balentine

Siblings: Desmond Balentine

Hometown: Kokomo, Ind.

High School: Kokomo

Major: Sports Management