Evansville back home for next two games
John Hall posted another stellar game, scoring 21 points, but Northern Iowa hit several late free throws on their way to an 81-74 win over the University of Evansville men’s basketball team on Saturday night inside the McLeod Center.
“UNI hit some difficult shots; they spaced the floor very well and grabbed some big offensive rebounds, that was the difference,†UE assistant coach Todd Lickliter said. “John Hall gave us a big lift tonight, but we just have a really good group of guys. You have to play better on the road because of the environment; we did a great job of competing and played well. We are getting better.â€
John Hall led the Aces (9-12, 3-5 MVC) with 21 points and 10 rebounds while K.J. Riley had 19. Marty Hill finished with 14 tallies while Shamar Givance scored 12. UNI (9-12, 4-4 MVC) was led by Spencer Haldeman’s 24 points. Trae Berhow scored 19.
UNI jumped out to a 5-0 lead before John Hall got the Aces on the board with a triple. The Panthers pushed the lead back to five at 8-3, but a Marty Hill trey and a K.J. Riley bucket knotted the score. UE took its first lead at 13-12 when Dainius Chatkevicius posted his first bucket of the day.
The lead changed hands a total of nine times in the first half. UNI used a 6-0 run to go up by a 29-24 score with 4:40 remaining, but the Aces countered with their best stretch of the game. A 12-2 stretch saw UE take its largest lead of 36-31 at the half. A Chatkevicius field goal and free throw along with a Hill triple put UE in front by a 30-29 score. After a Panther basket put them back in front by a 31-30 tally, the Aces came back with six more points in the final two minutes.
John Hall, who was 3-for-4 from outside in the first half, nailed his third of the half before Riley was fouled on a made basket in the final seconds to push the lead to 36-31. Hall and Riley scored nine points apiece in the opening stanza.
Out of the break, the Aces scored the first five points to push its lead to 10 at 41-31. UNI responded with three makes in a row to cut the UE lead to four. Evansville countered once again when Hall drained another from outside that gave the Aces a 48-39 advantage with 15:40 remaining.
Another run over the next seven minutes saw the Panthers embark on a 17-4 run that gave them a 56-52 lead. UE knotted the game at 58-58 when Hall knocked down his eighth shot of the game, tying his career mark. A technical foul helped UNI go up by a 66-60 margin inside of the 5-minute mark, but Evansville rallied again. Shamar Givance hit a layup before a Riley free throw got Evansville back within a possession at 66-63.
Evansville got even closer on an and-one by Riley with just over two and a half minutes remaining that made it a 70-68 game. UNI responded once again, pushing the lead to a game-high nine points before finishing with the 79-74 win.
UE outshot the Panthers by a 45.8%-45.0% margin. UNI was whistled just 14 times and took 28 free throws while UE was called for 24 fouls in the game.
A 2-game homestand is next up for Evansville with them playing host to Bradley on Wednesday evening in a 6 p.m. game before Valparaiso comes to the Ford Center on Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest.
