Aces take 74-45 win in exhibition opener

Page and Givance lead UE in victory

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Emmette Page and Shamar Givance recorded 14 points apiece to lead the University of Evansville men’s basketball team to a 74-45 victory over Mount St. Joseph in the exhibition opener on Saturday at the Ford Center.

Page had an efficient 5-of-6 day from the field while Givance added five rebounds and five helpers, both the highest totals on the team.  In his debut for the Purple Aces, Antoine Smith Jr. scored 13 points while hitting three triples.

“It was good to finally get out and play someone different than ourselves, and it is nice to now have the game film and we can go back and see what we did well today and what we need to improve upon,” UE head coach Todd Lickliter said after the game.  “We will go back, look at film and get better before Thursday.”

Mount St. Joseph saw the duo of David Luers and Kris McClure score eight points apiece with Devin Young accounting for seven.

Noah Frederking tallied the first points of the contest, hitting a triple at the 17:27 mark to give UE a 3-0 lead.  His shot ended a 0-for-4 start from the field.  Mount St. Joseph countered with their first points on the ensuing possession before the Aces scored five in a row to open a 7-2 lead.  Iyen Enaruna scored four in a row in the run.

The Lions did not let the early deficit phase them as they battled back to take an 11-10 lead on a basket by Evan Wieh just over seven minutes in.  Trailing for the first time, Evansville took control, going on a 15-3 run to take a 25-14 advantage.  With the score knotted at 13-13, a free throw by Page gave Evansville the lead for good.  Over a stretch of nearly seven minutes, the Aces held the Lions to just two free throws while forcing them to miss six shots in a row while forcing a pair of turnovers.

Antoine Smith Jr. connected on a 3-pointer to get things rolling before Blaise Beauchamp finished the run with a jumper to push the lead into double figures for the first time with 5:23 remaining in the first half.  A tenacious Lions squad continued to fight, getting within eight (30-22) inside of the 3-minute mark.  Another UE run shifted the momentum as the Aces scored 10 in a row over the final minutes to take a 40-22 advantage into the break.  Five points came from Shamar Givance before Smith wrapped up the half with his second 3-pointer of the day.

Over the first seven minutes of the final period, the advantage for Evansville hovered between 14 and 19 points with Mount St. Joseph doing its best to stay in the contest.  With 12:55 on the clock, an and-one by Page pushed the lead to 22 (52-30) and Evansville would cruise from there.  Gage Bobe recorded a triple that made it a 30-point game with 8:15 remaining before the game would Aces won by a final of 74-45.

A total of 3,159 fans were in attendance at Saturday’s contest following last season where attendance was limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Shamar Givance explained how the support made a difference with more a of a normal atmosphere.

“It was nice to have the fans back today.  Last year was really different, but today felt more like normal.  It was great to have the fans back,” Givance exclaimed.

Another exhibition game is on tap Thursday when the Aces welcome Kentucky Wesleyan to the Ford Center for a 6 p.m. contest.