Aces defeat Panthers to earn first MVC victory

UE leads from start to finish

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Leading from start to finish, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team put together its best performance of the season, defeating Northern Iowa by a final score of 71-59 on Wednesday at the Ford Center.

After jumping out to an 11-4 lead, the Purple Aces held a 43-26 advantage at halftime before taking the 12-point win.  Four UE players finished in double figures led by Yacine Toumi, who had 15 points while adding a team-best nine rebounds.  Kenny Strawbridge Jr. picked up 14 points while Gage Bobe and Preston Phillips added 12 and 10, respectively.

“I thought we did a good job coming out and being locked in on our defensive game plan.  We caught them off guard and kept them on their heels and won with our defense,” UE head coach David Ragland exclaimed following the victory.  “We put together a complete game and got the job done.  Over the last few games, we have been building towards this and I feel so good for the guys in the locker room and to see the smiles on their face.”

Tytan Anderson and Landon Wolf paced the Panthers with 14 points apiece.  Anderson recorded a game-high 12 caroms.

Evansville drained five of its first six shots to take an 11-4 lead just over three minutes in.  The Panthers countered with four in a row as the Aces missed their next three attempts, but it was Yacine Toumi connecting on a triple to end the run.

Up by a 17-13 score, Marvin Coleman II connected from downtown to open a 7-0 stretch that pushed the lead into double figures at 24-13 at the 9:07 mark.  Preston Phillips turned a steal into a field goal two minutes later to make it a 16-point game and with exactly one minute remaining in the half, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. turned another turnover into a make to take a game-high 19-point lead (43-24).

UE wrapped up the half with a 43-26 lead – its largest halftime lead of the season.  The Aces shot 60% from the field and 50% from outside.  Just as impressive was the defensive, who turned 11 UNI turnovers into 16 points while holding the Panthers to just two points off turnovers in the period.  Toumi scored 13 in the period.

Northern Iowa took over on the defensive end to open the second half, forcing 11 missed shots as they cut the lead to just seven at 43-36.  Chris Moncrief ended the stretch with a dunk to get his squad back on track.  Fortunately for the Aces, the deficit would not get below nine for the remainder of the evening.

Holding a 47-38 advantage as the second half reached its midway point, Phillips hit a basket to push the lead back into double figures.  His field goal began a 6-0 run that went back up to 15 with a Strawbridge triple.  His outside shot made it a 55-40 game.  Over the final minutes, the Panthers closed to within nine points but it was Evansville taking the win, 71-59.

For the first time this season, UE shot 50% from the field.  The Aces finished right at the mark with 28 of their 56 attempts finding the bottom of the net.  UNI shot 39.3% for the game.  Coleman led the Aces with seven assists while grabbing eight boards.  Phillips had a notable performance as he went 4-for-4 from the field while picking up three steals, three rebounds and two assists.  On Sunday, the Aces are right back at the Ford Center for a 1 p.m. game against Missouri State.