Men’s basketball falls short in home finale
Aces fall by four points to Bulldogs
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Tayshawn Comer scored 20 points and Tanner Cuff added 14 to lead the University of Evansville men’s basketball team in Wednesday’s home finale which saw the Purple Aces fall to Drake by a final score of 65-61 at the Ford Center.
Comer played all 40 minutes and was 7-for-14 from the field. Cuff was 5-of-8 from the floor on his way to the 14-point game. Both had three assists. Gabriel Pozzato finished with 9 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists.
“I am proud of our guys for how we responded and gave ourselves a chance to win it,” Evansville head coach David Ragland said after the game. “Unfortunately, we did not get the win, but we showed a lot of character and that we can play with anyone in the league.”
Connor Turnbull got UE on the board before Drake scored nine in a row to take the early lead. Tayshawn Comer ended the stretch before Turnbull registered the next five points to tie the game at 9-9 just over eight minutes into the game.
Three minutes later, the Purple Aces retook a 13-12 lead when Josh Hughes drained a pair of free throws. Over the course of the first half, the teams swapped the lead 11 times. Inside the 5-minute mark, Gabriel Pozzato hit a basket that put Evansville on top at 23-22. The Bulldogs countered with an 8-0 rally to go up by seven.
Two more tallies from Comer along with a basket by Hughes cut the deficit to five (32-27) with just under a minute left until the break. Drake had a quick response over the final seconds, scoring the last five points including a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 38-27 lead into halftime.
Out of the break, the Aces knocked down their first four shots while scoring the first ten points to get within one. Josh Hughes, Michael Day, Tanner Cuff, and Pozzato each posted baskets during the rally. On the other end, the Bulldogs got on track with a 6-0 spurt that put them back up by seven – 44-37 – with just under 14 minutes left in the contest.
UE had a response once again, tying the game at 46-46 when Cuff hit a layup with 10:22 on the clock. Less than a minute later, his 3-pointer gave UE a 49-48 lead. Drake answered with five in a row to go back up by four. With the Bulldogs up five at the entering the final three minutes, Evansville clawed its way back within a point with 1:21 left as Cuff converted another free throw.
Drake knocked down its late free throws to seal the win. Daniel Abreu paced the Bulldogs with 19 points while Tavion Banks had 15. Evansville finished with the 46.8%-40.7% shooting advantage while edging the Bulldogs on the glass by a 31-30 total.
Sunday’s regular season finale will see the Aces travel to Illinois State for a 2 p.m. game in Normal, Ill.
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