Seniors pace Aces in victory
 DES MOINES, Iowa – For the first time since February of 2010, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team earned a win at the Knapp Center as the Purple Aces defeated Drake by a final of 80-74 on Wednesday evening.
D.J. Balentine led everyone with 26 points as he down 9 of his 24 attempts for UE (21-7, 10-5 MVC). Egidijus Mockevicius, who had just four points at the break, broke out in the second half to finish with 21 tallies and 13 rebounds as he notched his 23rd double-double of the season. Blake Simons also finished in double figures with 11 as he downed 5 out of 6 attempts.
Drake (6-21, 1-14 MVC) was led by Reed Timmer’s 16 points. The sophomore connected on 10 of his 11 free throw attempts.
“We had good contributions from all of our guys,†UE head coach Marty Simmons said. “Everyone wants to look at a team’s record, but Drake is a really good team. They are young and extremely talented. We are fortunate to come out with the win.â€
An early run saw the Purple Aces jump out to an 11-2 lead, hitting 5 of its first 6 shots. D.J. Balentine opened the game up with a three and scored 7 of UE’s first 11 points in the first three minutes of the game.
Blake Simmons nailed a three to give UE a 14-5 lead and that edge grew to 18-5 in the first six minutes of the game. Over the final minutes of the half, it was Drake who was able to grab the momentum back from the Aces. Trailing by as many as 13 points in the opening stanza, the Bulldogs got within four as they trailed by that margin (36-32) at the break. The Aces went without a basket for the final six minutes, missing their final six attempts.
Balentine finished with 16 points in the half while Simmons tallied five.
In the opening moments of the second period, Drake got within two points at 38-36. The experienced Evansville team regained its foothold in the game, going on a 10-0 run that saw UE take its largest lead of the day at 52-38. Egidijus Mockevicius had two and-ones in the rally.
The largest lead the Aces would enjoy came with 9:29 remaining, but the Bulldogs pushed back. With Evansville up 67-53, Drake fought back, scoring the next nine points to get within five at 67-62. Mockevicius ended the run with a bucket, but a triple by Drake cut the gap to just four with just over two minutes remaining.
On the ensuing possession, Balentine hit one of the biggest shots of the night, connecting on a triple to put UE up 72-65. He did it again on the next possession to give the Aces a 75-67 lead. With 1 minute left, Graham Woodward knocked down another triple to get DU within five once again, making it a run that saw the Bulldogs connect on 9 out of 10 attempts.
From there, it was all Aces as they were able to finish with the 80-74 triumph. The Aces hit 51% of their attempts in the win.
A special day will be on tap for Saturday when the Aces welcome Southern Illinois for a 3 p.m. game. UE legend Jim Byers will be honored for his 50 years with the University of Evansville. The first 5,000 fans will also be given a D.J. Balentine autograph card celebrating him breaking the all-time program scoring mark.
