Men’s basketball rebounds with home win over ISU

Aces hold Redbirds to 53 points in the win

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Less than 48 hours after a road defeat at Redbird Arena, a reenergized University of Evansville squad battled it out with Illinois State, earning a 56-53 win over the Redbirds inside the Ford Center on Sunday.

The defense for the Purple Aces (5-13, 1-6 MVC) stepped up to the challenge, holding ISU (10-10, 3-4 MVC) to 40.0% shooting for the game and 38.5% in the second half.  That effort came less than two days after Illinois State shot 70.2% on their way to 94 points.  Shamar Givance led UE with 18 points and four assists.  Noah Frederking had a strong performance, scoring 14 points while finishing with a game-high 7 rebounds.  Evan Kuhlman scored 12 points while hitting a pair of triples.

“For our guys to respond the way they did today is very encouraging,” UE head coach Todd Lickliter exclaimed.  “They were committed to playing better and the leadership that we had from our players was really important.”

Over the first five minutes of the game, Illinois State took a 6-0 lead while the defense held the Aces to an 0-for-6 start from the floor and four turnovers.  Preston Phillips found Blake Sisley underneath the basket for UE’s first basket of the game before the Redbirds countered with a basket to cap off a 4-for-8 start.

After ISU took a 17-9 lead with the period entering the midway point, Evansville began to claw its way back.  Evan Kuhlman’s second 3-pointer of the day was followed by a Phillips bucket to get UE back within a possession at 17-14.  Mark Freeman converted for Illinois State at the 5:01 mark to push the lead back to five, but a quick spurt by the Aces tied the score.

Noah Frederking connected from downtown with Shamar Givance earning the assist.  On the ensuing ISU possession, Givance hauled in the defensive rebounds and went the distance, hitting a layup in transition to tie the score at 19-19 with 4:24 showing on the clock.  After a time out to regroup, ISU went on to score the final six points of the half while holding UE to 0-5 shooting and a turnover as they entered the break with a 25-19 advantage.

Kuhlman continued his strong performance in the second half, knocking down a pair of free throws following an ISU technical before finding Frederking cutting to the basket to make it a 25-23 game.  With 18:39 remaining, a 3-point play by Shamar Givance gave Evansville its first lead of the day at 26-25.  Jawaun Newton added a triple to cap off a 3-for-5 start to the half while cementing a 4-point lead.

Evansville added to the lead over the next segment with two free throws by Givance pushing the advantage to 38-30 with 13:23 left in the game.  Facing its largest deficit of the day, the Redbirds kicked it into gear, hitting five of their next six shots while scoring 12 in a row to retake the lead at 42-38.  Givance halted what was a scoreless drought of just over four minutes with a 3-point play at the 9:07 mark before a Redbird score cemented a 44-41 edge.

Back-to-back fast break baskets saw UE jump back in front.  Kuhlman scored following an ISU turnover before Givance ran it down the floor following a Redbird miss.  With just over five minutes left, it was Freeman who gave ISU the lead with a floater in the lane before Frederking knocked down two free throws to put UE back in front.  A huge defensive possession saw Evansville force an ISU miss with Phillips grabbing the rebound and finding Givance for a bucket to push the lead to 49-46 with 3:54 remaining, but ISU got back within one thanks to an Antonio Reeves basket on the next possession.

Frederking’s second triple of the day proved to be a big one as he took a Givance pass and turned it into a 52-48 edge.  Illinois State made a final rally, scoring the next four points to tie it up at 52-52 entering the final minute.   A pivotal UE possession saw Phillips grab an offensive carom before Givance scored to break the tie.  ISU went to the line with a chance to tie it with three seconds left, but after making the first, the second one hit the front of the rim, giving the Aces the possession.  Phillips was fouled on the inbound and the freshman converted both free throw attempts to make it a 56-53 game with just over a second left.  ISU had a final heave from half court fall just short, giving UE the win.

“We played with a chip on our shoulder today – ISU shot 70% against us on Friday and we were not going to let that happen again,” Frederking said after the win.  “Coach told us that we needed to either play hard or get beat.  Our guys brought that intensity on every play today.”

Reeves was the leading scorer for ISU, finishing with 23 points on 11-of-19 shooting while Freeman scored 11.  For the game, the Redbirds finished at 40.0% with UE shooting 38.0%.  A strong final 20 minutes saw the Aces saw them shoot 52.2% on the way to the win.  Another home game is set for Wednesday when UE plays host to UNI in a 6 p.m. start at the Ford Center.