Redbirds take 86-79 win over Aces
NORMAL, Ill. – Another eventful day on the floor for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team saw the Purple Aces come up just short on Sunday, falling to Illinois State by an 86-79 score inside CEFCU Arena.
Ben Humrichous led the Purple Aces with 21 points, all of which came in the second half. He was 8-of-15 from the field and converted five 3-point tries. Yacine Toumi and Kenny Strawbridge Jr. scored 13 apiece while Cam Haffner tied his season-high with 11. Four Redbirds reached double figures with Malachi Poindexter recording a game-high 27.
“We did not to the job we needed to defensively today and Illinois State came out and took advantage of it. They had a big win at Indiana State and came out with confidence today,†UE head men’s basketball coach David Ragland stated. “The offense played really well and took good shots; you just cannot give up 86 points on the road and expect to win.â€
Toumi opened the scoring with a putback with the Purple Aces taking a 4-0 lead. In the blink of an eye, Illinois State recorded 10 in a row to take their first lead of the afternoon. Gage Bobe knocked down a trey to cut into the deficit, but ISU came right back. Converting their first six 3-point attempts of the game, ISU held a 30-15 lead at the 11:06 mark.
Evansville utilized the remainder of the half to cut into the deficit. Cam Haffner, who matched his season scoring high of 11 in the first half alone, nailed back-to-back three’s to make it a 32-24 game inside of seven minutes remaining. Antonio Thomas connected from outside in the final minute to get UE within five, but three Redbird free throws capped the first half scoring as they took a 44-36 lead into the break. Both squads were lights out from outside in the period, each hitting seven of their 11 attempts.
Out of the break, UE caught fire. Toumi opened the scoring before Ben Humrichous reeled off five in a row to cut the defcit to one – 44-43. Just two minutes later, Humrichous connected from downtown once again to get the Aces within a pair at 48-46. ISU came back with a 3-pointer of their own to push the lead to five, but Humrichous was true from long range once again as his 11th point of the period made it a 51-49 game at the 14:08 mark.
Humrichous continued his dominant second half with a jumper that tied it up before drilling a 3-pointer to put UE in front at 56-53 with 10:49 showing on the clock. Kenny Strawbridge Jr. followed with a 3-point play to push the advantage to 59-55. The Redbirds made their way back with a 5-0 run to jump back in front as the contest entered its final eight minutes.
Two minutes later, Strawbridge put the lead back in the Aces hands with a triple to make it a 66-64 game. ISU countered with 10 in a row to take a 74-66 advantage with just over two minutes showing. Strawbridge ended the stretch, knocking down three free throw tries to make it a 5-point game entering the final two minutes. Unfortunately, ISU countered with a triple on the ensuing possession.
With the ISU lead still at eight entering the final minute, Humrichous connected on a three to cut it to a 5-point lead. Illinois State missed the front end of a one-and-one to put the ball right back in UE’s hands. Toumi scored on a drive to make it a 1-possession game at 79-76. That would unfortunately be the closest the Aces would get as Illinois State finished the day with the 86-79 decision.
Both squads finished the day shooting 50% or higher. ISU finished at 53.7% while UE checked in at an even 50%. Each team also converted 13 3-pointers. Evansville will look to end a 3-game skid on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. road game at UIC.
