Evansville ready for Senior Day on Saturday
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PEORIA, Ill. – There is a new leader in career rebounds for the University of Evansville as Egidijus Mockevicius grabbed the 1,198th of his career in the second half as the Purple Aces men’s basketball team defeated Bradley by a final of 67-55 on Tuesday night at Carver Arena.
Mockevicius finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds as he hit 7 of his 10 shots in the win for UE (23-7, 12-5 MVC). D.J. Balentine was Evansville’s leading scorer with 22 points. Bradley (5-25, 3-14 MVC) was led by a 14-point effort from Callum Barker.
“It was a tough start, we did not get as many good looks and the ones we got did not fall,†head coach Marty Simmons said. “We needed to get off to a good start in the second half, we challenged our guys to be efficient at the start of the second half. I thought we did a pretty good job of that.â€
“We’ve had some good spot and some not so good spots tonight, but we’re playing better. We have to make free throws better, but overall, were better.â€
It was a tough start for the Purple Aces as the Braves scored the first four points of the game as UE missed its first four shots. A 1-of-7 beginning to the day saw the Aces fall into a 10-3 hole. Blake Simmons found Egidijus Mockevicius underneath the basket for a layup that got UE back within a pair at 10-8, but the Braves were able to open up a 6-point gap at 17-11 midway through the half.
Evansville muscled its way back, utilizing a 9-0 run as they took their first lead of the night at 20-19 with 5:19 remaining. The rally was capped off with a Simmons layup that put the Aces up 24-19. Bradley got back within a pair at 27-25 before UE scored the final bucket of the period to head to the locker room up 29-25.
In the first possession of the second half, Balentine hit a pullback jumper before Jaylon Brown scored on a runout to put UE up 33-25 in the opening minute of the second half. Brown hit a floater at the buzzer to give UE a 10-point edge before an and-one by Callum Barker cut the gap to seven.
Bradley got within five at 41-36, but the Aces fought right back with a 7-0 run. Balentine was the key to it as he hit an and-one, followed by a triple to put UE up by 12 at 48-36. In that stretch, Mockevicius hauled in his 13th rebound of the night, setting the all-time program mark with 1,198.
While Mockevicius took care of the glass, the offense found its groove, going up by 19 at 63-44 with 5:19 left. From there, it was all Evansville as the Aces completed the night with the 67-55 win.
The Aces finished the night shooting 48% while Bradley finished at 43%. The Braves completed the game with a 34-30 edge in rebounding.
CBS Sports Network will be back in town on Saturday as the Aces will play host to UNI on Senior Day. D.J. Balentine, Egidijus Mockevicius and Adam Wing will be honored prior to the game. The first 5,000 fans will receive a commemorative Senior Day print courtesy of ARC Construction Company. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
