Aces and Racers face off at 3 p.m. Saturday
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – One of the biggest regional rivals is on tap for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team as they play host to Murray State on Saturday at 3 p.m. inside the Ford Center.
On Tuesday, the Purple Aces made it a perfect 5-0 at home with a 69-66 win over Bowling Green at the Ford Center. Jaylon Brown scored 29 points while hitting 14-of-15 free throws to lead all scorers as he put forth the top home effort of his career. The Aces led by as many as 11 before several BGSU rallies kept them within striking distance. With UE up 3 inside the final two minutes, Ryan Taylor made the play of the game; with the Falcons coming in for an open dunk, he came out of nowhere to block the shot and give possession back to UE.
With 29 points against Bowling Green, Jaylon Brown moved to the top of the conference scoring list with 20.0 per game. The effort was the senior’s top scoring output at the Ford Center and second-best scoring tally of his career. Brown drained a career-best 14 free throws, a total that was the highest since 2/12/14 when D.J. Balentine knocked down 20 from the line against Illinois State. His 29 points versus the Falcons saw him reach the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in the last seven games; for the season, he has scored 11 or more points in eight out of nine contests.
Brown looks to make it nine seasons in a row that the Purple Aces have had one of the top three scorers in the Missouri Valley Conference as he follows in the footsteps of D.J. Balentine, Colt Ryan and Shy Ely. Brown sits atop the MVC scoring list with 20.0 PPG. Evansville has had the leading scorer in the Valley on four occasions in the last eight seasons and one of the top two seven times in the last eight years. Below is a list of where the Aces scorers have ranked since 2008-09:
2016-17 – 1. Jaylon Brown 20.0 PPG
2015-16 – 1. D.J. Balentine 20.5 PPG
2014-15 – 1. D.J. Balentine 20.1 PPG
2013-14 – 1. D.J. Balentine 22.8 PPG
2012-13 – 2. Colt Ryan 20.1 PPG
2011-12 – 2. Colt Ryan 20.5 PPG
2010-11 – 3. Colt Ryan 15.7 PPG
2009-10 – 2. Colt Ryan 14.5 PPG
2008-09 – 1. Shy Ely 18.9 PPG
The win over BGSU marked the third 5-0 start at home for the Aces in the last four seasons. Last season, UE won its first 11 contests at the Ford Center and finished the year with a 13-3 mark at its home venue.
Murray State enters Saturday’s game with a 4-4 record and are winners of two of their last three contests, including an 86-76 win over Detroit Mercy on December 3. Jonathan Stark leads the Racers with 22.6 points per game and is coming off of a 27-point effort. Stark has been named the OVC Newcomer of the Week four times in a row and is 16th in the nation with his scoring average. The Racers have utilized their outside game this season, knocking down 10.5 triples per game, 16th in the nation.
