University of Evansville senior and reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week Egidijus Mockevicius scored 20 points and also notched the 1,000th point of his career as the Purple Aces men’s basketball team earned an 84-59 victory over Marian on Tuesday evening at the Ford Center.
“It is a great accomplishment for him, he has gotten better every year since he has been here and we are very proud of what he has done,†head coach Marty Simmons said. “With the game, we are going to have to play better tougher and smarter, we have a really good team coming in here on Saturday. We need a good few days of practice to be able to win on Saturday.â€
That opponent on Saturday is Belmont, who defeated Marquette in the opening weekend and fell at Arizona State on Monday night. Prior to the game, which begins at 12:30 p.m., Fan Fest will be held at Freedom Plaza just outside the Ford Center. Fan Fest is set to begin at 10:30 a.m.
On Tuesday, it was Mockevicius leading all scorers with 20 points and 11 rebounds along with two blocked shots. D.J. Balentine finished the night with 17 points and a game-high 7 assist while Jaylon Brown notched 13 on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting night. Dion Smith was the top scorer for Marian (5-1), notching 11 points. Wesley Stowers finished with ten.
Entering the game just 13 points shy of the 1,000-point plateau, Egidijus Mockevicius got to work in the first half, hitting six of his first seven shots to reach the mark in the first half. He was the leading scorer in the opening frame, but Marian did their best to keep it close.
Evansville scored the first four points and extended that edge to 12-7 on a Balentine jumper. The Knights fought back as a Dion Smith free throw gave them their first lead of the night at 13-12 with 13:51 left in the period.
A quick spurt by the Aces saw them take a 23-17 lead as they scored nine of the next 11 tallies. Just as they did earlier, Marian did not give up. A Curtis Green triple got them within one once again at 26-25 inside of the 6-minute mark. UE was able to get separation over the final minutes of the half as a 13-0 run saw them go up 39-25 with 2:27 left. The final point of that run was a put-back by Mockevicius, which marked his 1,000th career point.
In the second half, Evansville was able to turn it on, leading by as many as 29 points with 2:43 remaining. The Knights cut into the gap in the final minute to make it the final of 84-59.
UE outscored the Knights, 14-2, on the fast break and also had a 60-16 advantage on points in the paint.
“We ran well in transition, made layups and really emphasized going inside,†Aces junior Blake Simmons said.
As a team, UE shot 52.5% while holding Marian to 34.5%. Mockevicius was the most efficient shooter, hitting 9 of his 10 attempts.
