Haffner resets career scoring high in win over Green Bay
Aces rebound with 98-81 win
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Cam Haffner reset his single-game scoring high once again, recording 27 points on Friday night as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team took down Green Bay by a final score of 98-81 at the Ford Center.
Haffner was 10-of-16 from the field while draining five triples. He hauled in a game-high nine rebounds, tying his career mark from his freshman season at Eastern Illinois. Four others reached double figures including Josh Hughes, who tied his season mark of 19. Tanner Cuff recorded 15 while Gabriel Pozzato and Tayshawn Comer finished with 13 and 11, respectively.
“I’m proud of our guys for how they came out and played tonight. We put together a full 40 minutes and showed what we are capable of,” UE head coach David Ragland exclaimed. “We showed improvement in each facet of the game and are excited to be back at the Ford Center on Sunday.”
Converting 63.6% of its attempts in the first half, the Purple Aces led by as many as 18 points. Five minutes into the contest, Cam Haffner drained a triple to put UE on top at 11-4. Following a basket by Green Bay, Evansville put forth its best sequence of the half.
Haffner’s 3-pointer was the first of six consecutive field goal makes for UE as the Aces went on a 12-0 run to open a 23-6 lead at the 11:22 mark. Tayshawn Comer had a 3-pointer during the rally while Gabriel Pozzato added a pair of baskets.
After the Phoenix cut the gap to 25-15, Haffner and Josh Hughes combined to score the next 13 UE points to push the lead to 38-20 inside of the 5-minute mark. Green Bay would hit a late three to cut the deficit to 15 at the break. Haffner (14) and Hughes (11) both reached double figures in the opening 20 minutes.
Out of the half, Haffner picked up right where he left off, connecting from downtown for the fourth time. Four minutes in, Connor Turnbull drained a 3-pointer while Haffner followed with a pair of free throws to extend the advantage to 20 points for the first time at 56-36. It was all Aces from there as the lead reached as many as 33 points before the final deficit of 17.
Leading the Phoenix was Anthony Roy who scored 31 points. As a team, UE shot 59.7% while holding Green Bay to 40.3%. UE had its best rebounding effort of the year, finishing with a dominating 43-22 edge on the glass. Cuff led the team with six assists as UE accumulated a total of 19.
On Sunday, the Aces are back at the Ford Center for a 3 p.m. game against Campbell.
