Aces win second-straight on home floor
Ryan Taylor led a trio of double figure scorers as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team earned a 60-58 win over Loyola on Wednesday evening at the Ford Center.
Taylor paced the Purple Aces (12-14, 3-10 MVC) with 16 points, nine of them coming via the outside shot. Jaylon Brown registered 11 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds while Dru Smith knocked down four shots on his way to 10 points as Evansville won its second game in a row.
“Overall, for our team to hang in there and still make plays at the end to win is huge,” Aces head coach Marty Simmons said. “We really gutted it out and made some huge stops and got some big baskets in the final stretch.”
Leading the Ramblers (16-10, 6-7 MVC) was Clayton Custer, who notched 17 points and 7 rebounds. He went 5-7 from the floor and 4-5 from outside. Ben Richardson notched 11 points while Milton Doyle and Donte Ingram finished with 10 points apiece.
In the first half, Loyola took a pair of early leads, but a David Howard bucket three minutes in gave UE a 6-5 lead and they would add to that advantage over the remainder of the half. After the Ramblers tied it up at 10-10, Evansville reeled off 11 in a row to take a 21-10 lead midway through the half.
Willie Wiley had four points in the run before Smith capped it off with a three. Loyola got within five points at 23-18 inside of the 7-minute mark before another bucket by Smith in the final minute sent UE to the locker room with a 36-24 lead.
Ryan Taylor scored a team-best 8 points in the first half and added to it in the first possession of the second with a 3-pointer to give the Aces a 15-point lead. The Aces continued to lead by double figures at 42-29 before the Ramblers made their run. A 7-0 stretch by the Ramblers saw Milton Doyle wrap it up with a dunk with 14:36 remaining.
Loyola kept the pressure on as a triple from Clayton Custer got them within two at 47-45. After tying it up at 50-50, Donte Ingram gave LUC its first second-half lead at 52-50 with 6:05 on the clock. That wrapped up a 23-8 stretch over the course of ten minutes. Evansville refused to give up as a field goal from David Howard put UE back in front at 54-52 two minutes later.
Inside the final three minutes, the Ramblers tied it back up twice before Jaylon Brown gave UE a lead of 58-56. Smith added one more basket in the final seconds as the Aces clinched the 60-58 triumph. Loyola hit a basket at the buzzer, its first one since the 6:05 mark.
Loyola finished with a 31-25 rebounding edge and outshot the Aces, 46-2%-40.8%, but the Aces forced 17 turnovers while recording seven steals.
On Saturday, the Aces make the short trip to Carbondale, Ill. for a game against Southern Illinois. Game time is at 3 p.m. inside SIU Arena.
