Aces and Panthers meet up inside the Ford CenterAces and Panthers meet up inside the Ford Center
Looking for its 10th home win of the season and 100th victory at the Ford Center, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team takes on UNI in a 3 p.m. game on Sunday. ESPN3 and the Purple Aces Radio Network presented by Learfield will have live coverage.
Setting the Scene
– UE holds a 19-7 record in home games against UNI and has seven of the last nine contests played in Evansville
– The Panthers took the first meeting by an 81-74 final in Cedar Falls; John Hall scored 21 points and had his fifth double-double of the season while K.J. Riley tallied 19 points in the McLeod Center
– Evansville has dropped six of its last seven games including a 68-56 loss to Missouri State on Wednesday
Last Time Out
– Missouri State led by 18 points at halftime and finished with a 68-56 victory on Wednesday at the Ford Center
– MSU was 17-of-23 (73.9%) in the first half, but the Aces held them to 0-for-10 to start the second half
– UE got within eight points in the final 20 minutes, but could not get any closer
– Marty Hill paced the team with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting while K.J. Riley scored 10
Takeaways from Missouri State
– Evansville trailed MSU by 18 points at the half; over the last four games, the Aces have averaged a 12-point deficit at the end of the first half
– Opponents are shooting 54.5% from long range in the first half of the last four games
– Freshmen Shamar Givance and Jawaun Newton each set career highs in minutes played against the Bears; Givance finished with 29 minutes in his third start of the season while Newton played 22 minutes
Putting it Together
– Marty Hill has recorded at least nine points in 13 consecutive games including a 20-point outing at Southern Illinois and 15 in the home game against the Bears
– It marked his second 20-point game of the year; he was 4-for-5 from outside
– He has connected on at least one 3-pointer in 15 of the last 16 contests
– Hill has been on fire from outside, hitting 31 of his last 74 attempts from long range in the last 15 games
– In the home win over Drake, Hill scored 24 points while hitting five out of seven 3-pointers in 39 minutes; it was his top effort at UE, surpassing his 16-point outing at Arkansas State
– He has scored 8 or more points in 23 of the 26 contests
Finishing on a High Note
– Dainius Chatkevicius had the best week of his Evansville career, averaging 12.5 points per game including a career-high of 13 points at Southern Illinois
– Chatkevicius hit 10 out of 16 field goal tries and chipped in 8.0 rebounds per contest; he began the week by tying his career mark of 12 points in the game at Indiana State
– Chatkevicius recorded 10 rebounds at SIU on the way to his second career double-double
– Over his last three games, Chatkevicius has chipped in 11.3 points
Scouting the Opponent
– UNI picked up a 77-64 win over Illinois State on Wednesday to improve to 11-15 overall and 6-7 in league action
– The Panthers defeated the Aces by an 81-74 final in January in Cedar Falls with Spencer Haldeman recording 24 points
– A.J. Green is the top scorer for the Panthers, averaging 15.0 points per game; he is also an 85.5% shooter from the line
– Wyatt Lohaus is next with 9.4 PPG while Trae Berhow is their top rebounder with 6.0 per contest
