Three score 20+ points to lead UEÂ
David Howard scored a career-high 21 points while Jaylon Brown and Ryan Taylor added 22 apiece to lead the University of Evansville men’s basketball team to its fourth win in a row, defeating Drake by a final of 87-70 on Tuesday night at the Ford Center.
It was the first time three players scored 20 or more points for UE since Dec. 30, 2006 against Bradley when Matt Webster, Kyle Anslinger and Bradley Strickland notched 20 apiece against Bradley.
“As a team, we were in attack mode tonight. Jaylon was driving to the basket, Ryan was hitting his outside shots and I was attacking down low,” Howard said. “It was a great win tonight.”
Howard hit six shots and was a career-best 9-for-9 from outside for the Purple Aces (14-14, 5-10 MVC). Brown and Taylor each hit nine shots apiece. Brown did his work inside the arc, with all nine field goals being 2-pointers.
“Those guys all had great nights; Jaylon did well driving to the basket and David has been on quite a roll,” head coach Marty Simmons said. “Christian (Benzon) and Dru (Smith) also played extremely well. We had a nice stretch there in the second half when Ryan hit that three. Our guys just played well.”
A 4-for-4 start from the floor saw the Purple Aces open the night with the first eight points over the first 2:40. Just as quick as the Aces opened up, Drake came right back as a triple from Billy Wampler saw them record five points in a row.
Evansville, who led for the duration of the first half, pushed its lead to double figures at 25-15 midway through the half on a Christian Benzon free throw. The lead for UE went as high as 13 points on a jumper from Ryan Taylor. His bucket made it a 32-19 game with 6:23 remaining in the half.
Over the final minutes, the Bulldogs cut into the UE lead, finishing the half on an 18-8 stretch to trail by just three at the break. Another Wampler trey got the run started while Reed Timmer notched eight in the run to make it a 40-37 game at the break.
The lead for the Aces quickly grew to seven points in the opening minute of the second half, but the treys kept coming for DU as De’Antae McMurray connected twice from outside to get the Bulldogs back within three. At that point, Evansville buckled down. An 18-6 run that saw Dru Smith notch six points saw UE open up its largest advantage at 71-55 with just over nine minutes remaining. Later, an and-one by Christian Benzon saw UE pull away even more, up 81-62 just five minutes later.
From there, the Aces held strong, taking their fourth game in a row by a final of 87-70.
UE takes to the road for the final time in the regular season. The stretch begins on Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at Bradley before the Aces head to Wichita State next Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tilt. The home finale at the Ford Center will take place on Saturday, February 25. Fans are reminded that this game is now a noon tip off.
