UE back to Ford Center on Tuesday to face Loyola
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NORMAL, Ill. – Senior Egidijus Mockevicius became the University of Evansville’s second-leading rebounder in program history as the Purple Aces earned a 66-55 win at Redbird Arena on Friday evening in front of a national audience on ESPN2.
Mockevicius posted 20 rebounds for the third time this season to lead everyone. He also had 13 points. D.J. Balentine was the top scorer in the game with 25 points. He was a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. Adam Wing (11) and Jaylon Brown (10) also recorded double figures.
Shooting 59.1% in the first half, the Purple Aces (16-3, 5-1 MVC) took a 35-29 lead into the locker room at the break. Balentine finished the half with 15 points and score nine of UE’s first 11 points, leading to an 11-11 score.
Just over six minutes into the game, Adam Wing hit a jumper to give UE its first lead of the game at 13-11. A 7-0 run was capped off by another Balentine bucket. The Redbirds (9-10, 3-3 MVC) fought back and took their largest lead to that point at 23-19 at the 7-minute mark.
A game of runs saw the Aces battle back. With ISU leading 27-26, Evansville scored nine points in a row, including a triple by Wing and a powerful dunk by Jaylon Brown. That gave the Aces a 35-27 lead in the final two minutes. A Nick Banyard bucket capped off the first-half scoring as UE lead 35-29 at halftime.
Mockevicius scored on the opening possession of the second half giving UE a 37-29 lead, its largest of the game. After the Redbirds cut the gap to four, Blake Simmons had a great sequence to pad the Aces lead. After forcing a miss on defense, Simmons drained a triple on the ensuing possession. On the next defensive play, he forced a steal as UE pushed its lead back up to 7.
Later, the Aces would push their lead to 11 at 46-35. Seven minutes into the latter period, a Brown layup gave UE the first double figure lead either team would enjoy. Illinois State kept fighting as a 5-0 run cut the gap to just six as Deontae Hawkins hit his first trey of the night. Mockevicius ended the run with a free throw at the midway point of the second half.
After ISU got within four, Mislav Brzoja knocked down his first shot of the game, hitting a 3-pointer to reestablish the 7-point advantage. The UE defense picked it up from there as a 1-for-10 stretch by the Redbirds helped UE go back up by 11 at 58-47 in the final minutes. Evansville’s advantage reached 13 at 60-47 as Brzoja found Mockevicius open underneath the basket with under two minutes left. The Aces hung on from there for the win.
Evansville shot 50% for the game while holding ISU to 30.7%. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and Paris Lee were the top scorers for Illinois State with 12 points apiece.
It will be another late start for the Aces on Tuesday as they welcome Loyola to the Ford Center for an 8 p.m. contest. CBS Sports Network will carry the game.
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