Aces Defeat Miami Top Open The Season
 OXFORD, Ohio – Leading for 39 out of the 40 minutes, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team opened the David Ragland era with a 78-74 victory over Miami Ohio on Monday evening inside Millett Hall.
“Winning is hard, especially when you are playing against a team that is well-coached and puts you in tough situations. Every time we made a run, they (Miami) responded,†UE head men’s basketball coach David Ragland exclaimed following the win. “I credit our guys with continuing to fight. This means a ton for our group. You are pushing hard work, commitment and so much more and you hope that you can win with it.â€
Leading the way for the Purple Aces was Kenny Strawbridge Jr. with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He added four rebounds. Yacine Toumi scored 15 points with five of his nine shots finding the bottom of the net. Marvin Coleman II recorded 11 points and 7 rebounds. Defensively, Sekou Kalle hauled in 10 rebounds to help UE finish with a 35-33 edge in that statistic.
In his time at Indian Hills Community College last season, Yacine Toumi was 0-3 from outside. In the opening minutes at Miami, Toumi matched the number of attempts while connecting on two. Toumi recorded the opening eight points of the night for the Aces as they opened with an 8-3 lead.
A 6-for-9 start from the field led to a 14-3 advantage for Evansville in the opening four minutes of the contest. Kenny Strawbridge Jr., who led all players with 12 in the opening period, had a pair of baskets in the stretch. Blaise Beauchamp put the finishing touches on the scorching start as he converted an and-one with 12:10 remaining in the half to push the lead to 19-5. UE was 8-for-14 in the first eight minutes.
Led by a Ryan Mabrey triple, the RedHawks battled back. His shot was part of a 10-2 rally over the next three minutes that cut the MU deficit to 21-15 at the 9:16 mark. The next segment belonged to the Aces, who were able to stretch the lead back to double figures. Gage Bobe converted a triple before Preston Phillips wrapped up the run with a slam with 3:21 left in the half to solidify a 32-21 edge.
Over the final minutes, Miami cut into the deficit, outscoring the Aces by an 11-4 margin to make it a 36-32 game at the half. Strawbridge led everyone with 12 at the break with Toumi scoring nine.
Miami scored first to make it a 2-point game in the opening seconds, but the second long ball of the game from Bobe made it a two-possession game once again. Up 47-42, the Aces doubled the lead when Antoine Smith Jr. drained a three at the 12:08 mark to give UE a 56-46 advantage. Over the next four minutes, the RedHawks cut into the deficit. Outscoring UE by a 14-5 margin, MU made it a 61-60 contest with 8:03 showing as Morgan Stafford was true from outside.
Toumi put the Aces back on the board with a free throw and layup that made it a 64-60 score over the next 60 seconds. With under five minutes remaining, Marvin Coleman II hit a long jumper just inside the 3-point line to make it a 70-63 game. After Miami came back again, Sekou Kalle picked up a dunk that would push the edge to 75-69.
With Evansville still up by six, Anderson Mirambeaux knocked down a trey to make it a 1-possession tilt with 47 ticks showing. Coleman converted three of his four free throw attempts to put the game on ice and give the Aces the 78-74 victory.
UE shot 46.7% on the night with MU finishing at 43.3%. Mirambeaux led all players with 27 tallies. Evansville continues to play on Saturday with a trip to Saint Louis for a 6 p.m. game.
