Aces Set For Three Games In Three DaysÂ
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah, Georgia will be the scene of the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic, which will see the University of Evansville men’s basketball team open play on Friday evening against South Alabama.  The tip is set for 5:30 p.m. CT at Enmarket Arena with the Purple Aces Radio Network and BeTheBeast having the coverage.
Weekend Outlook
– Evansville and South Alabama are set to meet for the 5th time in their histories and the first contest since 1994; UE has won three of the first four match-ups
– Robert Morris will be the second opponent on Saturday evening in the second meeting between the schools (UE won a meeting in December of 1996)
– For the first time on the hardwood, the Purple Aces take on Fairfield in Sunday’s finale
Last Time Out
– In another hard-fought contest, Evansville gave UCF all it could handle before a late stretch gave the Knights a 76-56 win
– Kenny Strawbridge Jr. was the leading scorer in the contest, totaling 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting
– Antoine Smith Jr. and Blaise Beauchamp scored nine apiece
– UE scored the opening six points of the game and would trail by just five at the break…in the second half, UE got within two points before the Knights pulled away
Back in Form
– Kenny Strawbridge Jr. reached the 20-point mark for the third time this season as he scored 20 at UCF
– He attempted a career-high 19 shots
– For the season, he ranks 10th in the Valley with 16.2 points per game
– He has attempted at least 13 shots in all five games
– Knocking down 9 of his 17 attempts, Strawbridge scored 23 points to lead UE to a 78-74 win at Miami Ohio
Scorching the Nets
– Blaise Beauchamp averaged just 4.67 points per game in the opening three games but has rebounded to average 12.5 points in the last two
– At SMU, he scored a season-high 16 points while hitting four triples (he hit a total of three triples in the first three games)
– Beauchamp followed that up with 9 points at UCF while adding two more treys
– He played a season-high 33:42 in the contest in Dallas
Leader on the Boards
– For the second time this year, Marvin Coleman II tied his career-high with 12 rebounds at UCF after doing the same against SEMO
– His average of 7.6 rebounds per game is 5th in the MVC
– Coleman is averaging 7 PPG on the season and hit that mark at UCF while draining a triple to complete the first half
– He connected on three of his four free throw attempts in the final seconds to ice the season-opening victory at Miami Ohio
Scouting the Opponent
– South Alabama comes into the weekend tournament with a 1-3 record, but the Jaguars have played well against top competition
– Following a 97-59 win over Mobile in the season opener, the Jaguars fell by just six at New Mexico
– USA dropped a 10-point game to Alabama before coming up just four points short at Oklahoma
– Isaiah Moore paces the Jaguars with 19.5 points per game while chipping in 4.0 rebounds
– Kevin Samuel checks in with 11.5 points and a team-best 9.3 caroms per contest
