Aces fans can gather to watch Friday’s game
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville men’s basketball fans are invited to a watch party on Friday evening at the Purple Aces travel to Illinois State for a pivotal Missouri Valley Conference matchup.
Chido Mexican Bar & Grill in downtown Evansville at The District will host the watch party on Friday as the Aces will face off against Illinois State at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. Fans are invited to cheer the Aces on as they embark on a tough road game.
Evansville led wire-to-wire in an 84-65 win over Drake on Tuesday at the Ford Center to move to 15-13 overall and 4-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Aces led by a 38-22 score at the break and added 46 more tallies on the board in the second half. D.J. Balentine scored a game-high 24 points while Egidijus Mockevicius added 21 points and 12 boards. Friday’s game at Illinois State marks the beginning of a stretch that will see UE be on the road for three out of four contests.
With his efforts in the win over Drake, D.J. Balentine passed former teammate Colt Ryan in a pair of statistics. Balentine moved to second in the Aces record book in field goals with 717; Larry Humes sits atop the list with 865. He also jumped ahead of Ryan in assists with 407, Balentine is now in 6th place.
For the first time since the 2008-09 season, the Purple Aces have won their first 10 home games. Should UE improve to 11-0, it would mark the first time doing so since the 1988-89 campaign when Evansville won all 15 games at Roberts Stadium.
The Purple Aces lead the MVC in shooting % (52.3%) and shooting defense (40.9%). UE is one of just four schools to lead its conference in both categories; Stony Brook, Florida Gulf Coast and Weber State are the others.
Illinois State enters Friday’s tilt with a 9-9 mark following an 81-78 defeat at Southern Illinois on Tuesday. The Redbird are 3-2 in the MVC, winning their first three contests versus Missouri State, Drake and Loyola. Preseason All-MVC First Team member DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell leads the way for the Redbirds with 15.6 points per game, he is shooting 46.7% on the season.
MiKyle McIntosh and Paris Lee are next up with 10.1 points per game each. McIntosh is tied for second on the squad with 12 blocked shots while Lee has registered a team-best 62 assists on the season.
