Box Score
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Five Hoosiers scored in double figures as the Indiana University men’s basketball team topped Evansville, 94-73, Wednesday evening at the Ford Center.
Kenneth Harris and Colt Ryan were the leading scorers for the Aces (1-1) while Verdell Jones III paced the Hoosiers (3-0). All three players finished with 17 points.
Indiana hit three of its first four shots en route to an early 7-0 lead. Jordan Hulls, who finished the night with 14 points, scored four in the early run. A Harris layup got Evansville on the board before a Ryan free throw got the Aces within four, 7-3. That is as close as UE would be for the remainder of the contest as IU would put up the next two baskets before leading by as many as 26 points in the opening period.
Another Harris bucket made it a 24-point game (51-27) at the break as a dominant inside game would be the difference. Indiana outscored Evansville, 26-8, in the paint in the opening stanza.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Indiana utilized a 12-6 run to extend the advantage to 30 points as Verdell Jones stuck again in the form of two three-pointers. Indiana would lead by as many as 33 points before coming away with the 24-point win.
Over the final minutes of the game, several Evansville players logged minutes to gain pivotal experience. Rokas Cesnulevisius played 13 minutes and grabbed five boards while scoring four. Jordan Nelson finished with five tallies in eight minutes while Jaylon Moore saw three minutes of action.
Denver Holmes had his second double-digit outing of the young season, scoring 13. Ryan and Cesnulevisius were the leading rebounders for UE with five.
Christian Watford had 15 points for the Hoosiers while Cody Zeller and Jordan Hulls notched 14. Zeller also hauled in a game-high nine rebounds.
Both squads shot the ball fairly well, but the Hoosiers 55.9% proved to be too much for Evansville, who finished the evening shooting 42.9%. Indiana was also 11-of-21 from three-point range and had a 37-32 advantage on the boards.
Evansville will look to rebound on Saturday as it will play host to Oakland City at 2:05 p.m.
