UE faces ISU on Thursday evening
  A big Missouri Valley Conference test is up next for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team as they open league play on Thursday evening against Illinois State at 7 p.m. inside Redbird Arena.
Non-conference play wrapped up on Thursday against Mount St. Joseph as the Purple Aces won their 7th in a row overall and 8th in a row at home with a 68-55 win. MVC Player of the Week Jaylon Brown was the leader of the pack once again, draining 33 points; Ryan Taylor tallied 13 while Duane Gibson had a season-high of 13. The Aces completed non-conference play with a 9-4 mark; UE has been at least .500 or above in non-conference play each season since 2003-04, when the Aces were 1-7. After opening Valley play at Illinois State, UE returns home for a New Year’s Day game against UNI.
In the only game of the last week for the Aces, Jaylon Brown led everyone with 33 points while being on the floor for all 40 minutes of a victory against Mount St. Joseph. Brown knocked down 11 of his 16 attempts along with four triples and a 7-8 effort from the free throw line; he hauled in six rebounds and had three assists in the victory.
Duane Gibson recorded 12 points in the win over Mount St. Joseph, his best outing since missing most of last season due to injury. Gibson hit 6 of his 7 attempts to go along with 5 assists, 3 rebounds and a pair of steals in 32 minutes of work.  Through the first six games, Gibson averaged just 3.8 points per game and had six steals and 20 helpers. In the six following outings, he helped UE to a perfect 6-0 mark while notching 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds while notching a total of 12 steals and 27 assists.
Illinois State begins league play with an 8-4 record and are winners of four out of their last five contests including a 68-56 win over Tulsa on Christmas Day. Three Redbirds average double figures, led by Deontae Hawkins, who sits with 15.1 points per game and a team-best 6.8 rebounds. Paris Lee stands at 14.7 points while MiKyle McIntosh checks in with 13.3 PPG. In non-conference play, ISU was a perfect 6-0 at home, topping Saint Joseph’s by a final of 81-72 in their last contest at Redbird Arena.
