UE heads to Illinois State for 3 p.m. game
Sporting a 3-game win streak, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team looks to make it four in a row as the Purple Aces head to Normal, Ill. for a meeting against Illinois State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Shooting 68.4% in the second half, UE came from behind to grab a 57-49 win over UNI on Wednesday. Ryan Taylor had his third 20-point game in a row, hitting 10 shots on his way to 25 while Blake Simmons had his first career double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds; his 15 caroms was his career best. Both teams shot under 30% in the first half as the game was tied up at 21-21 at halftime. Evansville has now won 7 of its last 9 home games against the Panthers. For the sixth time this season, the Aces hit under 10 free throws; UE is now 2-4 in those games.
Ten more field goals found their way to the bottom of the net as Ryan Taylor totaled 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting versus UNI. The effort marked the third 20-point game in a row for Taylor, who has now reached that total in 12 games this season. Taylor has connected on 28 out of 54 tries in the last three games (51.9%); in the four games prior, he finished at 31.3% (21/67).
In a rebounding effort for the ages, Blake Simmons grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds against UNI on the way to the first double-double of his career as he also tallied 15 points. Entering the game, Simmons career rebounding mark stood at 8, but he broke that in the first half alone with nine. The Newburgh, Ind. native is enjoying the best season of his career, sitting at 11.9 PPG; his previous best came in 2013-14 when he finished with 9.3 PPG.
In their last game, Illinois State picked up a big road win at Missouri State to improve to 12-11 overall and 6-5 in the MVC. Three players average double figures led by Milik Yarbrough’s 16.8 PPG; he has 6.2 rebounds per contest and a total of 102 assists. Keyshawn Evans and Phil Fayne average 16.1 PPG each and Fayne is the team leader with 7.0 boards per game. Five players hit double figures in the win in Springfield led by Yarbrough and Evans’ 15 points.
Illinois State has enjoyed the upper hand in its series against UE, especially in recent years. The Redbirds have won five in a row overall and eight of the last nine. Inside Redbird Arena, ISU is 21-5 against UE with the Aces last win coming on January 15, 2016 by a final of 66-55.
