Aces and Ramblers tangle in midweek contest
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – With a rare January off weekend complete, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team returns to the Ford Center on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game against Loyola. The MVC TV Network, ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the coverage.
Season Update
– The MVC recently announced make-up dates for games that have been postponed
– On Jan. 21, UE travels to Illinois State for a 6 p.m. game before ISU returns the trip two days later in a 1 p.m. game at the Ford Center
– Evansville will play Indiana State in Terre Haute on Feb. 8 before the Sycamores come to Evansville on the 10th
– The Purple Aces played 12 games over the course of 30 days to open the year, but went 25 days in between the 12/8 game at SEMO and the 1/2 contest at UNI
Last Time Out
– An extended second-half run lifted Bradley to a 79-47 win over the Purple Aces on Wednesday night in Peoria
– Trailing by 12 at the half, Evansville made it a 38-31 game in the opening minutes of the second period before the Braves were able to regroup and pull away
– Jawaun Newton and Shamar Givance led UE with 16 points apiece…Newton added eight rebounds while Givance picked up two assists
– Preston Phillips set career highs in rebounds (9) and minutes (30:32)
Still Going Strong
– Shamar Givance scored 16 points at Bradley to improve his season average to 14.7 points per game, which ranks 8th in the MVC
– Givance is alone in 6th in the league with his mark of 3.7 assists per game while tying for 6th in steals (1.4/game)
– He continues to score at the top rate of his career, recording an average of 18.3 points over the last seven contests, including his career high of 31 against SIU…since opening with seven points against Cincinnati in the season opener, he has averaged 15.4 points while scoring at least 11 in all but two games since
Making a Contribution
– Freshman Preston Phillips has started the last two games and a total of four contests on the season
– He is coming off of a strong performance at Bradley that saw him set his freshman marks in rebounds (9) and minutes played (30:32)
– Phillips has been credited with 2+ rebounds in each game that he has played in and is averaging 3.8 per game for the year
– His top scoring mark came at SEMO where he finished with 5 points while registering 5 boards
– Averaging 17.5 minutes per game, Phillips has played at least 15 minutes in four consecutive outings
Clamping Down
– Through six homes games, the UE defense has shined, allowing the opposition to score an average of just 56.33 points per game…just one opponent has scored over 60 points at the Ford Center this season with UCF finishing with 75 on Nov. 20
– In nine road/neutral site games, the opposition has averaged 74.8 PPG
Scouting the Opponent
– Winners of nine games in a row, Loyola enters Tuesday’s game with a 13-2 overall mark while standing at a perfect 4-0 in the Valley
– Two of the Ramblers last three games have gone to overtime with home contests versus Bradley and Valparaiso going to an extra period with Loyola winning on both occasions
– Lucas Williamson leads the Ramblers with 12.3 points per game and an average of 5.1 rebounds
– He is tied for the team lead with 32 3-pointers while pacing the squad with 20 steals
– Coming off the bench, Ryan Schwieger has recorded 11.4 PPG while shooting 48.8%
