UE fell to UNI, but has sights set on #2 seed
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In a defensive battle that came down to the final shot, UNI was able to hang on for a 54-52 win over the University of Evansville men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.
Evansville (23-8, 12-6 MVC) seniors D.J. Balentine, Egidijus Mockevicius and Adam Wing were honored prior to the game and kept UE in it, scoring 43 of the Aces 52 points. Balentine was the leading scorer in the contest with 19 points while Mockevicius notched his 26th double-double of the year with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Wing had a solid day, posting 10.
“Our seniors have been great all year and great for the last four years,†UE head coach Marty Simmons said. “I thought our guys prepared well. We knew it would be a grind it out game. They got 15 points off turnovers in the first half and that made a difference. I thought our guys played hard, but. We made a lot of mistakes. We just have to be better, in tune and locked in.â€
UE has its sights set on the second seed for Arch Madness. The Aces finished the regular season in a tie with Illinois State. After splitting the season series, the tiebreaker will be determined by the RPI according to the Jim Sukup RPI Report on Sunday morning. UE began the day with an RPI of 81 while Illinois State, who fell to Wichita State on Saturday, was 105.
Down as many as 12 points in the second half, UE clawed its way back with a chance to win it on the last shot. A late triple fell short as UNI (19-12, 11-7 MVC) held on for the win. Wes Washpun was the leading scorer for UNI, notching 14 points.
Balentine gave the Aces an early 3-0 lead, but UNI came back with a 9-0 stretch. The Panthers hit four out of five shots in the stretch. Jaylon Brown found his groove, scoring four points to lead Evansville back within a point at 13-12, but UNI had the answer once again.
UNI reeled off the next ten points to take their largest lead at 23-12. Balentine ended the drought for UE as they went to the half trailing 25-16. Evansville shot just 29.4% in the first half while turning it over nine times. UNI shot 42.3% in the opening stanza.
The Aces scored the first basket of the second half, but a pivotal turning point came just over three minutes in. Egidijus Mockevicius drew a foul, but was called for a technical. UNI converted both free throws and hit a triple when they got the ball back to open up their largest lead at 30-18.
At that point, Evansville kicked it into high gear, getting within six at 32-26. A Paul Jesperson triple put UNI back up nine, but the Aces rallied once again. A Balentine free throw made it a one possession game (37-34) with 7:15 left.
Just four minutes later, Wing hit a huge triple that got the Aces within a pair at 49-47. His second trey of the day in the final minute would cut the UNI lead to 51-50. The Panthers were able to respond every time, but a missed free throw with 13 seconds remaining gave the Aces the ball trailing by just two. Out of a time out, Balentine had a 3-pointer blocked by UNI. He was able to get the rebound and find Mislav Brzoja, whose triple at the buzzer came up just short.
