Second half rally pushes #22 Loyola to win over Aces

UE set for home-and-home this weekend with Illinois State

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Jawaun Newton, Shamar Givance and Noah Frederking scored in double figures on Tuesday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team fell to #22 Loyola by a final of 77-48 inside the Ford Center.

Newton led the Purple Aces (4-12, 0-5 MVC) with 13 points while Givance finished with 12.  Frederking was a perfect 3-for-3 from outside on his way to an 11-point outing.  Evan Kuhlman paced the team with five rebounds while tying for the team lead with three assists.  Leading the Ramblers (14-2, 5-0 MVC) was Lucas Williamson, who converted five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points.  Chris Knight added 12 points for the Ramblers.

“We have played some good basketball, but have not been able to do it consistently.  When you are trying to develop and build, you are likely to struggle,” UE head coach Todd Lickliter said following the game.  “I told the guys not to give in or feel sorry for ourselves.  We need to take away the positives and concentrate on putting together longer stretches of good basketball.”

A pair of 3-pointers got things going for UE, who jumped out to a 6-0 advantage.  Preston Phillips and Jawaun Newton hit the triples to give Evansville the early lead.  Both teams enjoyed early shooting success, combining to hit the first eight attempts of the night.  The Aces were 5-for-5 while the Ramblers knocked down their first three tries, leading to a 13-8 UE lead just over four minutes into the contest.

Loyola battled back, tying it at 13-13 at the 12:41 mark before going in front for the first time at 16-15.  A 9-0 run saw the Ramblers open up a 22-15 lead with 8:58 showing on the clock, but the Aces would not let them get too far in front, clawing back with Noah Frederking knocking down a triple to end the Rambler run.  Inside of seven minutes remaining, a basket by Newton tied the score at 22-22.

The Ramblers countered with a score on the other end on their way to completing the half on an 8-2 run to take a 30-24 halftime advantage.  After making their first five attempts of the night, UE hit four of the final 20 attempts while the Ramblers, who were 3-for-3 to open the game, hit six of their final 15 tries in the opening stanza.  Newton led all scorers with 11 at the break.

Things continued to trend in the Ramblers direction in the second half with back-to-back triples extending the lead to 15 points (46-31) before the advantage reached 20 points (51-31) with 11:36 showing on the clock.  Loyola would extend the advantage to as many as 31 in the final minutes before taking home a 77-48 decision.  UE finished the game shooting 32.7% while the Ramblers finished at 62.8% for the game while scoring the nets to the tune of 72.0% in the second half.  In the final 20 minutes, Loyola hit 6 out of 7 attempts from outside.

This weekend, the Aces will face Illinois State in a home-and-home series.  UE will be in Normal, Ill. on Friday for a 6 p.m. game with the return contest at the Ford Center set for Sunday at 1 p.m.