The first home game of the calendar year is up next for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team as they welcome Bradley to the Ford Center on Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. game.
Fans can get tickets for just $5 for the 3 p.m. game by bringing in the ticket vouchers that will be printed inside the Courier & Press on January 1 and January 5. You can also bring any issue of the Courier & Press from Dec. 31 through Jan. 6 that does not include a coupon to redeem the same deal.
Vouchers/newspapers can be redeemed at the Carson Center or Ford Center until game time on Saturday. Redemptions can be done at the Ford Center on the day of the game. One voucher/newspaper can be redeemed for multiple tickets. These vouchers are good for sections 103-108 and 114-119. One of the top halftime performances of the season will be on hand Saturday as the ZOOperstars will entertain everyone at the half.
In a battle to the wire on Wednesday, UE fell by a final of 65-63 at Southern Illinois. Four players finished in double figures for the Aces, but SIU shot 65% from outside to hold on for the win.
Another great game saw Dru Smith record 10 points and 7 steals at Southern Illinois; his 7 steals was the most since Colt Ryan had that many against Drake in 2013 and is tied for the 3rd-highest tally in the nation this season. His effort of seven swipes was the most for the Aces since Colt Ryan had seven against Drake in 2013. Smith leads the MVC in steals, assists and field goal percentage; he is the only player in the nation to currently lead his conference in those statistics.
It was just another day at the office for Ryan Taylor, who scored 21 points at SIU. In three games since missing seven with an injury, Taylor has notched 21 points per game. He has taken at least 16 shots in each MVC game and is shooting 48.2% overall in those three league outings. The SIU game marked his 7th 20-point game of the season; he had six such games last season.
A 13-point outing at Southern Illinois saw Blake Simmons make it 8 out of 9 games reaching double figures. Since the beginning of December, Simmons is averaging 13.9 points per game while shooting 57% from the field; he shot just 39% in the first seven games of the season. Simmons begins the week with 958 career points; he is just 42 shy of becoming the 49th player in program history to score 1,000 in his career.
Bradley is off to a great start this season, recording a 12-4 mark through their first 16 games while winning two out of three MVC contests. The Braves fell at Drake in the league opener before they defeated UNI and Valparaiso at home. Darrell Brown is the top offensive threat for Bradley, notching 14.1 points per game and a team-high 65 assists. Donte Thomas was the leader against the Crusaders, posting 19 points in the 80-71 victory.
