Flames defeat Aces by score of 76-49
CHICAGO – Josh Hughes tied for the game high with 16 points to pace the University of Evansville men’s basketball team in a 76-49 defeat at UIC on Tuesday evening inside Credit Union 1 Arena.
Along with his 16 points, Hughes led the Purple Aces with six boards. Bryce Quinet joined Hughes in double figures with 10 points. Elijah Crawford led UIC with 16 points while three players finished with 10 including Rashund Washington Jr., who posted his first double-double with 10 boards and 10 tallies.
“I thought we came out and were able to punch first, but give UIC credit, they took control from there,” UE head coach David Ragland exclaimed. “The way we played is not our brand of basketball; it is disappointing to make the trip to Chicago and play the way we did.”
Evansville converted its first two attempts of the evening to take an early 5-0 lead. Josh Hughes found a cutting Leif Moeller for the opening basket of the game before Bryce Quinet connected from downtown. The defense for the Purple Aces was locked in, holding the Flames to eight consecutive misses to begin the contest.
Following the dry spell, the Flames rebounded to hit five of their ensuing eight attempts to go up 13-7. UE would miss six consecutive attempts before Chicago native AJ Casey found the scoreboard. His basket ended a run that saw UIC score 11 in a row. The Flames did not take long to regain their edge as their defense forced 10 turnovers in the opening 11:30 as they went up 22-9 with 8:30 remaining in the half. One minute later, they added another basket to go up 24-9. After trailing by a 5-0 tally, the Flames outscored UE by a 24-4 margin to open the lead.
Quinet’s driving layup with 4:07 on the clock cut the deficit to 11 points at 28-17, however, six in a row by UIC push the lead to 34-17 with exactly one minute on the clock. Alex Hemenway’s first 3-[pointer of the game completed the first-half scoring as UIC held a 34-20 edge at the break. Hughes led UE with six tallies.
After closing the opening period with a triple, Hemenway started the second half with his second field goal from downtown to cut the gap to 11, but six in a row by UIC matched the largest lead of 17 points. With 13:39 left in the game, the Flames opened their largest lead of 19 points (49-30). Josh Hughes did his best to keep the Aces in the contest, knocking down a pair of triples to keep his squad within 16 points at 52-36 with 11:20 left.
With the final half approaching its final 10 minutes, UIC opened a game-high 21-point lead at 57-36. James Dyson-Merwe converted his first field goal of the night while Trent Hundley hit a triple to get back within 16. Unfortunately, UIC would not let the Aces get any closer. The final score was also their largest lead of the night as they took the game by a final score of 76-49.
UIC shot an even 50.0% for the night while holding the Aces to 30.2%. The Flames completed the game with a slight 36-33 rebounding edge. Evansville committed 19 turnovers, which led to 29 points by the Flames. Another difference came in the paint as UIC outscored the Aces by a 46-18 margin. UE returns home Sunday for a 3 p.m. game against Southern Illinois.
