Aces rally but fall short on the road at UNI

Sunday game against Illinois State awaits Purple Aces 

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Three University of Evansville men’s basketball players scored double figures, but the University of Northern Iowa was able to fend off a late rally to earn a 61-54 win over the Purple Aces on Wednesday evening at the McLeod Center.

Jaylon Brown led the way for UE (10-12, 1-8 MVC) with 13 points apiece while Ryan Taylor and David Howard scored 11 tallies apiece.  Brown went 5/6 from the free throw line while hitting three field goals.  Taylor knocked down four shots on the night while Howard was an efficient 5-of-7 from the floor.

“We were on our heels in the beginning of the game and dug a large hold in the first half, but I am proud of our effort in the second half,” UE head coach Marty Simmons said.  “Solomon Hainna gave us some great minutes of the second half and gave us a real boost.”

A trio of UNI (9-11, 4-5 MVC) players hit double figures, led by a 17-point effort from Bennett Koch.  Koch was 6-11 from the floor and 5-5 from the line.  Luke McDonnell had 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while Klint Carlson had 10 points.

UNI had the hot hand early on as they connected on 6 of their first 8 shots to take a 16-5 lead.  Bennett Koch hit the opening two shots of the game to give the Panthers a 4-0 lead before Duane Gibson hit an and-one to get UE back within a point.

Jeremy Morgan countered with back-to-back triples as the Panthers extended their lead to as many as 18 points in the opening stanza at 33-15 inside of three minutes remaining.  Evansville grabbed some momentum in the latter minutes of the period as a triple from freshman Dru Smith helped UE head to the half trailing by 13 at 35-22.

Evansville’s momentum from the first half continued into the second half as Jaylon Brown hit a triple, hit first bucket of the game, as the Aces cut the gap to six.  What was a 16-4 run saw the Aces cut their deficit to 37-31 in the opening minutes of the second half.  UE connected on 6 of their first 9 attempts in the period while holding UNI to 2-of-8 as a Taylor bucket made it a 40-35 game inside of 14 minutes remaining.  On the other end, Jordan Ashton drained a triple to give the Panthers a 43-35 lead.

Those were the first points of a 7-0 stretch as the Panthers pushed their lead back to double figures.  They extended the lead to 51-37 with seven minutes remaining, but UE had another push left.  With under three minutes left, Solomon Hainna hit a bucket to make it a 52-46 game.  The Aces had an opportunity to get closer, but the UNI defense clamped down at the right time as they were able to earn the victory.

UE outshot the Panthers 37.7%-37.0% while UNI finished with a 34-32 edge on the glass.

Next up for the Aces is a visit to the Ford Center by MVC-leading Illinois State.  The Aces and Redbirds tangle at 3 p.m.