Givance sets career mark in win at EIU

Aces lead wire-to-wire in 70-54 road win

 CHARLESTON, Ill. – Shamar Givance recorded a career-high 26 points while the University of Evansville men’s basketball team led from start to finish in a 70-54 road win at Eastern Illinois on Sunday inside Lantz Arena.

Givance posted a 10-of-13 day from the field and converted three of his four outside tries.  His stat line also included 5 assists, 5 steals and 5 rebounds.  Just four days after recording the first double-double of his UE (3-6) career, Jawaun Newton made it two in a row, finishing with 13 points while setting a new career mark with 12 caroms.

“I thought we played some pretty good basketball today.  We moved the ball so well and our guys made shots,” UE head men’s basketball coach Todd Lickliter said after the win.  “We did what we needed to do with getting the lead and extending it.”

Blaise Beauchamp tied his top UE mark with 12 points while Antoine Smith Jr. scored 10, his third double figure outing in the last four games.  Eastern Illinois (1-6) was led by Sammy Friday IV, who led the Panthers with 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Hitting 12 of its first 18 attempts from the field while starting 8-for-10 from outside, the Purple Aces took a 32-10 lead to begin the game.  Shamar Givance hit a pair of early triples to wrap up an 8-0 run to open the game.  After a Panther layup made it 11-5 at the 16:14 mark, Evansville responded with a 12-0 run.  Jawaun Newton and Antoine Smith Jr. hit triples during the stretch as the first half hit the midway point.

After Noah Frederking connected from downtown, Blaise Beauchamp drained back-to-back triples to push the lead to 32-10 with 7:38 left in the half.  Facing its largest deficit, Eastern Illinois clamped down on the defensive end, holding the Aces scoreless for over four minutes while scoring seven in a row to get within 15.  Beauchamp, who matched his career scoring mark in the first 20 minutes with 12 points, ended the drought with a basket.  EIU continued to rally, getting as close as 12 points (36-24) before UE registered the final score of the half to enter the break with a 38-24 advantage.

EIU connected on a triple in the opening minute of the second half to make it a 39-27 game before Evansville got back on track to take its largest advantage of the day.  Following a Panther miss, Antoine Smith Jr. hit a pair of free throws that were the first of 11 points in a row for UE.  Newton picked up seven in a row during the rally.  With 10:21 remaining, it was Givance getting the job done on both ends of the floor, hitting a driving layup before forcing a turnover and converting another basket that put the Aces up 56-31.

From there, the Aces held strong to take the 70-54 win, its first on the road since an 84-72 win at Southern Illinois on Dec. 28, 2020.  Evansville shot 41.5% for the game with EIU finishing at 38.0%.  A big difference in the game came from long distance with the Aces hitting 11 triples and EIU finishing 3-of-10.

Wednesday will see the Aces back inside the Ford Center for the Missouri Valley Conference opener against Southern Illinois.  Game time is 6 p.m.