The University of Evansville men’s basketball team looks for a 2-0 start to its Missouri Valley Conference schedule with a trip to Missouri State for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday afternoon.
Trailing by eight points at the half, Evansville scored the first nine points of the second half before pulling away for a 70-62 victory over Indiana State on Wednesday. Senior D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius posted 22 points apiece. Mockevicius notched his 12th double-double of the season as he grabbed 16 boards; Balentine had his best effort on the glass, finishing with a career-high of 9 caroms.
Balentine’s tally put him into third place on the all-time scoring list for the Purple Aces. His total stands at 2,070 in his career and he moved past Marcus Wilson’s final career total of 2,053. For Mockevicius, he stands with 979 career rebounds and is two away from tying Ed Smallwood for third place in the Aces’ record book. His 22-point effort was his first career conference game recording at least 20 points.
The Bears enter Saturday’s game with a record of 4-9 after falling by a final of 74-61 in their league opener at Illinois State. Highlighting the season for Missouri State has been a victory at Oklahoma State on Dec. 5 as the Bears edged the Cowboys, 64-63. Camyn Boone is the leading scorer and rebounder for MSU; Boone has recorded 13 points per game while grabbing 6.8 boards, he had a team-best 8 rebounds in the MVC opener. Second on the squad in scoring is Dequon Miller with 12 PPG; he tied for the game high of 17 points last time out.
