Teams square off at the Ford Center on Wednesday
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In its seventh appearance in the MVC/Mountain West Challenge, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team will square off against the Wyoming inside the Ford Center at 6 p.m. Purple Aces head coach Walter McCarty will take on his former teammate at the University of Kentucky – Allen Edwards; Edwards is in his third season as the head coach of the Cowboys.
“Wyoming is a really good team, they play freely and have a guy who could be a first round NBA draft pick,†UE head coach Walter McCarty said. “They shoot the ball really well and have guys who can play many positions. They can score the basketball and also show a lot of fight; they get down but fight right back.â€
McCarty also gave some insight as to the mindset of his team following Saturday’s game at Ball State.
“We have some bounce back, our guys enjoy competing. We were able to put some possessions together where we were able to score the basketball, so looking at it from that perspective, I am encouraged because we were able to put some points on the board,†he added.
Last Time Out
– Ball State used a 14-0 run in the first half to propel themselves to an 82-72 win over the Aces on Saturday
– Trailing by as many as 22 points with 5:38 remaining, UE rallied to get within ten in the final moments
– Shea Feehan scored 19 points to lead UE; he drained four triples in the game
– John Hall and Marty Hill had 10 points each
– The Aces out shot the Cardinals, 49.1%-47.6%, but BSU turned 16 offensive rebounds into ten more shot attempts
– Dainius Chatkevicius had 9 points and 6 rebounds in his second game of the season
– UE led the BSU by a 7-2 margin in the first three minutes of the game; the Cardinals took the lead for good with 10:44 remaining in the first half
Takeaways from Ball State
– Feehan’s 19-point effort marked the third time in five games he has hit that mark
– John Hall had 10 points and 7 rebounds; his 6.8 boards leads the team
– Ball State finished with a 16-7 advantage on the offensive glass, for the season, UE has been outrebounded by a 67-36 margin on the offensive side
– The Aces bench had a 20-11 edge on the Cardinals bench, but BSU had the edge in second chance points by a 22-6 margin
MVC/Mountain West Challenge
– Wednesday will mark the seventh appearance for the Aces in the MVC/Mountain West Challenge
– Evansville is 2-4 in its six games in the event, but has won two of the last three games
– UE’s results include:
11/29/17 – at New Mexico – L, 58-79
12/3/16 – vs. Boise State – W, 72-67
12/20/15 – at Fresno State – W, 85-77
12/1/12 – at Colorado State – L, 72-79
12/3/11 – vs. TCU – L, 68-70 OT
12/5/10 – at Air Force – L, 56-57
No Adjustment Needed
– Shea Feehan added 19 points in the road game at Ball State on Saturday and has now scored 19 or more in three out of five games
– For the season, he is averaging a team-high 15.8 points per game; that tally ranks seventh in the MVC
– Feehan has been depended on for his on-court leadership, pacing the team with 32.2 minutes per game; he has played at least 28 minutes in all five contests.
– He had a solid opener against the Fighting Illini, recording 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals while going 4-8 from the floor
– He upped his game at Xavier, setting his career mark with 20 points while shooting 6-of-15, 4-for-9 from outside and 4-5 from the line; he posted three assists and three rebounds
– At least one 3-pointer has been tallied by Feehan in each game
– Feehan is the first graduate transfer in program history
Scouting the Opponent
– Wyoming comes into Wednesday’s match-up with a 2-4 record, earning a 68-66 win over Richmond last week in the Fort Myers Tip-Off
– The Cowboys are led by Justin James, who is averaging 23.3 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per contest; he also leads the squad with a total of 24 assists
– Hunter Maldonado and Jake Hendricks check in with 14.2 and 13.7 PPG, respectively, while Hunter Thompson stands at 10.0
– Hendricks has connected on 20 triples in 2018
