Aces fall to Bradley by final of 94-90
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Leif Moeller and Bryce Quinet set their career scoring highs on Tuesday as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team fell to Bradley in a thrilling overtime game by a final score of 94-90 inside the Ford Center.
Moeller finished the night with a career-best 26 points. He was 8-of-17 from the field while hitting three triples and seven free throws. The freshman added six assists and two steals. His point tally was the highest for a UE player this season. Quinet added 20 points, eclipsing his previous high of 15, which was set against Oregon State. AJ Casey scored 13 points while Alex Hemenway had 11 and Josh Hughes recorded 10.
“I will never question the heart and fight of our team. We did a good job of punching Bradley in the mouth in the first half but knew they would fight back like any good team would,” UE head coach David Ragland said. “It was a game of runs in the second half and both teams battled. There are a few things we need to clean up but we kept responding and never gave up.”
Bradley recorded the opening four points of the evening while Leif Moeller got the Purple Aces on the board in the ensuing possession. Following another BU basket, Moeller connected from downtown to make it a 6-5 game. With Bradley holding an 8-5 lead, UE made its first run of the game. Converting five consecutive field goals, Evansville took its first lead of the night and pushed the advantage to 15-8.
Moeller got things rolling with a dunk before Bryce Quinet hit a pair of jumpers. Following another basket by Moeller, Trent Hundley’s long jumper capped the run with exactly 14 minutes on the clock. While UE made its run, the Braves missed six field goals in a row. Two minutes later, after the Braves closed to 17-13, the Aces had another strong stretch.
Scoring eight in a row, UE took its first double figure lead at 25-13 nearing the midway point of the period. Trent Hundley was fouled on a 3-point try and connected on all three attempts. He struck again on the next trip down the floor with his first triple of the game before Quinet finished the run with a jumper. With 8:01 remaining in the half, UE took its largest lead of 13 points and held the same advantage with at the 4:13 mark.
That is when Bradley shot its way back into the game. Trailing 33-20, the Braves reeled off nine in a row to cut the deficit to just four entering the final two minutes. Their defense held Evansville to four consecutive misses along with forcing three turnovers to chop into the deficit. Alex Hemenway knocked down a 3-pointer in the final minutes to send the Aces into the break with a 36-29 advantage. Quinet and Moeller had 10 points apiece in the period.
Picking up right where he left off to complete the first half, Hemenway hit his second triple to push the lead back to ten points. Bradley answered with seven in a row to get back within one possession for the first time since the early moments of the first half. After a layup from AJ Casey gave the Aces a 43-38 lead, Bradley stormed back once again with seven in a row to jump in front at 45-34 with 14:11 remaining.
Triples by Josh Hughes and Moeller put Evansville back in front at 51-48 and the squads would battle to a 56-56 score with 10:30 left in the game. Connecting on three field goals in a row, the Braves took their largest advantage at 62-56 until a Quinet free throw ended the run inside the 9-minute mark.
Evansville made its way back as a triple by Quinet and free throw from Casey made it a 62-61 game two minutes later. Bradley continued to hold the lead until 3:33 remaining when a 3-point play by Josh Hughes knotted the score at 70-70. After the Braves retook the lead on a layup, Casey drained a triple that put the Aces in front. The teams swapped the four times in the final moments until a pair of Casey free throws tied the game at 79-79. Bradley had a final chance in the final seconds but a shotclock violation gave UE the ball with 0.9 remaining. A final attempt fell short to send the game to overtime.
Bradley scored the opening six points of the extra period before Moeller brought his team back. After making a free throw, Moeller hit a triple to cut the deficit to a pair. Following a pair of missed free throws by BU, Moeller hit a layup to tie the game at 85-85 with 2:44 remaining in the extra session.
Seconds later, AJ Casey’s dunk put UE in front at 87-85 while the Braves quickly tied the score before taking a 4-point lead with 19 ticks remaining. Alex Hemenway knocked down another 3-pointer to get the Aces within one and the Braves would be fouled on their next trip down the floor. After making the first, they missed the second, however, Jaquan Johnson grabbed the offensive board and was fouled. He made both free throw tries to finalize the 94-90 victory.
Johnson led all players with 35 points for the Braves. His total tied him for the most points scored by a visiting player in Ford Center history. Robbie Avila and Cooper Neese, both of Indiana State, also accomplished the feat.
UE shot 50% from the field for the third game in a row finishing at 50.9% while the Braves shot an even 50.0%. Both squads finished with 35 rebounds. The Aces are back on the road at UIC on January 20.
