UE wins by 73-69 final
SAINT THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands– Four players scored in double figures on Friday evening as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team defeated Oregon State by a final score of 73-69 in the Paradise Jam opener. With the victory, the Purple Aces advance to face Akron on Sunday evening at 7 p.m. CST for a chance to advance to the championship game.
In the first meeting between the teams since the 1989 NCAA Tournament, it was Josh Hughes leading the way with the third double-double of his career and second of the season. He scored a season-high 16 points while grabbing a career-best 12 boards. Bryce Quinet tallied a career-best 15 points while adding four caroms, three assists, and two steals. He was 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
Leif Moeller picked up his first collegiate double figure contest. He scored 14 points while Connor Turnbull finished the game with ten. Noah Amenhauser led Oregon state with 17 points while Josiah Lake II registered 16.
“This was a complete team win – everybody contributed from start to finish,” UE head men’s basketball coach David Ragland said after the win. “Oregon State went on several runs to make it close down the stretch, but I am proud of how we responded. This is a huge confidence builder for our entire squad.”
Connor Turnbull’s 3-point play capped off a 5-0 start to the night. Following a triple by Oregon State, Leif Moeller connected from downtown to push the advantage to five points once again. Just over six minutes into the contest, a pair of free throws gave the Beavers their first lead at 11-10.
It took just a few second for the Aces to retake the lead as a drive by Bryce Quinet put UE up 12-11. As the half approached its midway point, Josh Hughes connected from downtown to give UE a 19-13 advantage. After a triple by OSU, Evansville scored the next six points to take their largest lead of the period at 25-16 with 7:13 remaining. Quinet drained all four free throw tries during the stretch.
Over the final sequence of the half, Oregon State slowly cut into the deficit. It was the defense that made the difference for the Beavers down the stretch. After UE converted 9 of its first 15 shots to open the game, the Aces hit just one of their final 10 attempts. OSU did not fare much better. After going 5-for-17 during the first 12 minutes of the game, the Beavers hit five of their final 13 tries.
The late rally by OSU saw them cut the deficit to just two points at the break – 30-28. Evansville had five players with five points or more in the opening 20 minutes while Josiah Lake II had 10 in the first half for the Beavers.
Out of the break, Oregon State grabbed its largest lead of the night. Making five out of six attempts, the Beavers opened a 38-32 lead with 15:52 on the clock. OSU held the Aces to a 1-for-7 start to the second half. Things quickly swung back Evansville’s way. A 6-minute rally saw UE outscore the Beavers by a 20-3 margin to take a 52-41 lead inside of the 10-minute mark.
Hughes got it going with a layup and two free throws before a Trent Hudley triple put UE on top at 39-38. Quinet followed with a layup to add two more to the lead. Oregon State responded with a triple to tie the score at 41-41 before the Aces got it rolling once again. Leif Moeller drained his second triple to open what would be an 11-0 run. AJ Casey finished the stretch with a layup to make it a 52-41 game.
Oregon State held UE to 1-for-9 from the field over the ensuing three minutes while outscoring the Aces by a 17-8 tally to get back within a pair at 60-58. Moeller quickly hit a layup to push the lead back to four before Quinet added four more to make it a 66-58 game with 2:28 left in the game. The Beavers rallied to get within three points on multiple occasions in the final minute before UE finished with the 4-point win.
Evansville finished the game shooting 40.0% while OSU completed the evening at 37.3%. Both teams finished with 34 rebounds. The largest advantage of the night for the Aces was its bench production. UE had 24 points off the bench while Oregon State had 12. Next up for UE is a contest against Akron on Sunday evening at 7 p.m. CST.
