UE travels to Murray State on Saturday
NASHVILLE – Belmont scored the first six points of the game and would pull away to defeat the University of Evansville men’s basketball team by a final score of 95-63 on Wednesday night inside Curb Event Center.
Marvin Coleman II led the Purple Aces with 15 points. He was 6-for-16 from the field and recorded five rebounds and four assists. Continuing his hot shooting from outside, Gage Bobe was 4-of-6 on his way to 14 points. Preston Phillips added a career-high 11 points to go with seven boards. Five Bruins reached double figures led by Ben Sheppard’s 16 tallies.
Hitting their first two outside attempts, the Bruins took a 6-0 lead before recording the first nine points of the game. After opening the game 0-for-5 from the field with a turnover, Marvin Coleman II got the Aces on the board with a turnaround jumper.
Belmont took its first double digit lead at 14-3 with Gage Bobe countering with the first triple for UE to cut the gap back to eight. Five of the first nine outside tries found the bottom of the net as the lead grew to 20-8. With 6:18 remaining in the half, a free throw solidified a 33-15 advantage for the Bruins.
Over the next two minutes, Evansville made its move, scoring nine in a row. Antoine Smith Jr. connected on two free throws with the defense taking over on the next two possessions. Coleman and Yacine Toumi both turned a turnover into a made basket to get within 12. Smith completed the run with three free throws to get his squad within nine points (33-24) with 4:19 remaining in the half.
Finishing the period on a 13-4 run, the Bruins reestablished their 18-point lead as the game entered the break. Down the stretch, Belmont drained its final five attempts while Evansville missed its last six to make it a 46-28 score.
Evansville’s shooting woes continued in the second half with the Aces missing their first seven attempts with Belmont tacking five more points to their lead. Kenny Strawbridge Jr. converted a 3-point play to temporarily halt the stretch before Belmont continued to add to the lead. Their advantage reached 76-40 with 9:08 left in the game with Evansville closing to within 29 inside of the 7-minute mark.
Things fluctuated from there with Belmont taking the contest by a final score of 95-63. The Bruins shot 56.9% while UE completed the game at 31.4%.
With the season entering its final weeks, UE remains on the road at Murray State on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. contest.
