Aces and Braves to face off at 3 p.m.
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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Three of the next four games for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team will be played at home, beginning on Saturday as the Purple Aces play host to Bradley in a 3 p.m. game at the Ford Center.
Saturday’s tilt will be available on ESPN3 as part of “The Valley on ESPN3†package.
Playing one of its best halves of basketball all season, the Purple Aces overcame a 9-point deficit in the second half, but came up just short at Wichita State, falling by a final of 67-64. It marked the first time an MVC opponent was within a possession of the Shockers at Charles Koch Arena since the Aces won there in 2013 by a final of 59-56.
Jaylon Brown was the star of the game for UE, draining 7 out of 12 shots to tally 18 points. D.J. Balentine and Adam Wing checked in with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Egidijus Mockevicius hauled in a game-high 16 rebounds and is now averaging 17.7 in UE’s three league games.
Mockevicius was named the midseason mid-major player of the year on Jan. 7 as he was named the Lou Henson Award midseason recipient. The Lou Henson Award is given out to the top mid-major player in college basketball every year. The recipient of the 2016 award will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Award Presentation on April 1 in Houston at the site of the Final Four.
D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius have combined to average 39 points per game this season. That is the most in the MVC since Wichita’s Maurice Evans (22.6 PPG) and Jason Perez (16.8 PPG) averaged 39.4 points. The last duo to average 40 points in the league was Randy Blocker (23 PPG) and Cam Johnson (21.1) of UNI.
A roster that features 10 freshmen in 2015-16 has posted a 2-14 record through its first 16 games with its wins coming over Ball State and Maryville. The Braves have lost their last five games while starting MVC play at 0-3. Freshman Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye is the top scorer for Bradley, checking in at 8.9 points per game; the frosh is shooting 38.9% and leads the squad with 11 steals. Sophomore Donte Thomas is next up for the Braves, posting 8.8 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds.
