Indiana State takes 82-65 win over Purple Aces
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Shooting over 50% for the fourth game in a row, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team defeated Loyola, 74-66, in Missouri Valley Conference action on Tuesday night at the Ford Center.
“We couldn’t be more disappointed in today’s game. We felt like we were moving in the right direction over the last few days, but it did not come together today,†head coach Marty Simmons said. “We took a lot of bad shots in the beginning, but give Indiana State credit, they played great and did what they had to do to win.â€
D.J. Balentine was one of four Aces (17-4, 6-2 MVC) to record double figures. He had 20. Egidijus Mockevicius had a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards while Jaylon Brown and Adam Wing finished with 13 points apiece.
Leading the Sycamores (11-9, 5-3 MVC) was Brenton Scott. He posted 24 points, including six triples. Tying his mark was Devonte Brown, who also had 24. He hit seven shots on 13 attempts.
Indiana State came out on fire, scoring the first eight points of the game before Adam Wing got the Aces on the board almost three minutes into the game. That was the first of back-to-back buckets as UE made it an 8-4 game. Brenton Scott was the catalyst of the ISU offense, scoring 14 of the Sycamores’ first 16 points as they went up 16-5.
The Purple Aces started to grind their way back into the game as they cut the gap to five at 23-18 midway through the period. Later, an old-fashioned 3-point play by Adam Wing got the Aces within two. After a pair of Sycamore free throws with 5:48 remaining, Blake Simmons hit a triple on the ensuing possession to make it a 1-point game (27-26) with 5:31 left.
Indiana State led at 30-29 with 4:50 left and put the clamps on the Aces in the final minutes of the half, outscoring UE by a 15-2 margin to take a 45-31 lead into the locker room. Scott had 17 points for the Sycamores in the first half and Wing was the leader for UE with 10.
Out of the break, the Aces looked to be ready to mount a comeback as they registered the first five points as Jaylon Brown hit a two and Adam Wing added his second trey of the day to make it a 45-36 game. Indiana State rallied back with a run of their own, scoring 12 of the next 17 to take their largest lead at 57-41.
Evansville was unable to get much closer in the final minutes as they fell by a final of 82-65.
On Thursday, the Aces will be back in action as they tra/vel to Southern Illinois for a 7 p.m. game on ESPN3.
