UE looks to pick up big road win
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A quick turnaround will see the University of Evansville men’s basketball team right back in action on Saturday with a 3 p.m. CT game at Xavier. Fox Sports Net will have the broadcast and it will be available in the Evansville area. The Fox Sports Go app will also have the stream with the proper subscription through your cable company.
Illinois and Evansville swapped the lead in the opening moments of Thursday’s season opener, but a 10-0 stretch by the Fighting Illini saw them pull away for a 99-60 win. Three Purple Aces tallied double figures, led by K.J. Riley (14), Marty Hill (13) and Shea Feehan (12). Evan Kuhlman and John Hall led the team with 32 and 31 minutes, respectively; the totals were career highs for both players.
Takeaways from Illinois                   Â
– Evansville attempted 24 3-pointers; it was the highest total for UE since taking 30 triples at Illinois State on January 15, 2014
– Four players made their debuts on Thursday including Shea Feehan, Shamar Givance, Jawaun Newton and Jared Chestnut
– Feehan was the top performer of the group, recording 12 points in 28 minutes of action
– Givance scored four points and dished out a team-high four assists; he did not turn the ball over in his 13 minutes on the floor
– Newton registered five points and three boards while Chestnut played the final three minutes
– The Aces turned the ball over 26 times; it was the most for the team since turning it over 25 times against Alabama State on Dec. 4, 2009
Last year, K.J. Riley paced the team with 107 free throw makes; he got off to a good start at Illinois, draining six. He was UE’s leading scorer in the game, finishing with 14 while playing 27 minutes.
Sophomore John Hall has taken advantage of the new system installed by head coach Walter McCarty. After attempting a total of six 3-pointers last year, Hall was 1-3 from outside against Illinois. Hall scored seven points while playing a career-high 31 minutes.
Xavier opened the season with an 82-69 victory over IUPUI. The Musketeers were led by 24 points from Ryan Welage and 17 by Tyrique Jones. Kyle Castlin came close to a double-double in the opener, registering 9 points and 8 rebounds. Last season, Xavier went 29-6 on their way to being named one of the four #1 seeds in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Evansville and Xavier played in the MCC (Midwestern City Conference before being renamed the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1985) from 1980 through 1994 until UE left for the Missouri Valley Conference. This is just the second meeting since UE departed the MCC; Xavier left the league a year later for the Atlantic 10 Conference; they remained in the league until joining the Big East in 2013.
The squads last met in 2013 with Xavier holding on for a 63-60 win over the Purple Aces inside the Cintas Center.
