Peoria, Ill.: After leading over Peoria three times in regulation, the Thunderbolts and Rivermen went to overtime for the second time this season, with the Thunderbolts coming up victorious off a goal from Mike Ferraro, 4-3 on Wednesday night in Peoria.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Friday, December 2^nd against the Quad City Storm at 7:00pm CT.  For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.

Andrew Shewfelt gave Evansville a 1-0 lead at the 6:49 mark of the first period, assisted by Hayden Hulton.  In the second period, Alec Hagaman tied the game for Peoria only 2:19 into the middle frame, before the Thunderbolts regained the lead as Brendan Harrogate scored a power play goal at 15:33 from Cameron Cook and Scott Kirton to make it 2-1 Evansville.  The Rivermen again bounced back as Cayden Cahill scored with 16 seconds remaining in the second period to tie the game 2-2.

In the third period, Hayden Hulton deflected a Dillon Hill shot into the net at 4:28, also assisted by Harrogate, to put Evansville in front 3-2.  The Rivermen again responded on a 5-on-3 power play as Alec Baer scored at 11:35 to tie the game 3-3, with the Thunderbolts penalty kill doing solid work ensuring the Rivermen did not take a lead on the remaining power play time.  In overtime, Ferraro scored on a 2-on-1 break from Scott Kirton, also assisted by Felix Sasser, to win the game for Evansville at 2:50 of overtime.

Hulton and Harrogate finish with a goal and assist each, while Ferraro and Shewfelt scored one goal each. Kirton finished with two assists, while Chase Perry stopped 34 of 37 shots faced in net for his first win as a Thunderbolt.  These two teams meet again on December 30^th at Peoria Civic Center.

Strawbridge leads UE with 20 points

 ORLANDO, Fla. – Kenny Strawbridge Jr. returned to form, scoring 20 points as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team dropped a 76-56 contest against the University of Central Florida on Wednesday evening inside Addition Financial Arena.  Full stats will be posted as soon as they are available.

“UCF has a ton of experience and they are going to win a lot of games.  We did a nice job of containing them in the first half, but it seemed like the flood gates opened during a stretch in the second half,” UE head coach David Ragland said.  “We need to do a better job of stopping the bleeding during those types of stretches and generate quality possessions.”

Antoine Smith Jr. score nine points while Blaise Beauchamp matched his total.

Strawbridge hit two early shots to give the Aces a 6-0 lead.  Evansville’s defense held the Knights to an 0-for-5 start from the field before they got on the board at the 15:32 mark.  UCF took its first lead of the night at 9-8 with just under 13 minutes left in the half.  Their second triple of the night put them up 14-11 but it was Antoine Smith Jr. providing an immediate answer on the other end to tie it right back up.

UCF reeled off 11 points in a row to take their largest advantage of 25-15 with four consecutive shots finding the bottom of the net with under nine minutes left in the half.  Confident in his team’s ability to play through the adversity, Coach Ragland did just that and his team responded.  Five in a row by Blaise Beauchamp highlighted a 7-0 rally for Evansville.

With the first half entering the final minute, the Knights padded their lead at 11 when a Taylor Hendricks dunk pushed the advantage to 35-24.  UE was undeterred by the deficit and grabbed the momentum entering halftime.  Smith drained his second triple of the game and following a UCF miss, the Aces had the final possession.  With time running down, Marvin Coleman II drained a triple to send the Aces to the break down just five – 35-30.

What turned into a 10-0 run by the Aces continued to open the second half when Gage Bobe turned a steal into a fastbreak basket to open the scoring.  Coleman hit a layup on the ensuing possession to make it a 35-34 game.  Five minutes into the final stanza, Preston Phillips knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a 42-39 game, but in the blink of an eye, the tide turned.

Eight in a row by the Knights in less than a minute saw them match their largest lead at 50-39.  Strawbridge helped UE get back within seven tallies before UCF would begin to take control.  Inside of the 6-minute mark, they opened up a 66-51 lead and would go on to take the win by 20.

UE travels to Savannah this weekend where they are set to face South Alabama, Robert Morris and Fairfield.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball picked up an 85-52 home win Wednesday against Bethel University (Ind.), as USI’s junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) recorded a career-high 23 points on the afternoon.
 
Both teams tried to find their flow in the first few minutes of the first quarter Wednesday. For USI, sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) picked up right where she left off from her 21-point, 11-rebound performance on Saturday. Shafford scored five quick points off a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer that put USI ahead 7-2 in the early going. After a little bit of a dry spell, Bethel closed the gap to make the score 11-9 USI, but the Screaming Eagles went on to finish the first quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 20-9 advantage into the second period. Senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) scored six straight points for USI in the late, first-quarter run.
 
After scoring five points in the first period, Raley attacked the basket in the early minutes of the second quarter, getting to the free-throw line. Her made free throws with 7:56 left in the first half put USI up by 20, 29-9. A minute later, the Screaming Eagles kept feeding Haithcock in the paint, as her bucket inside gave USI a 31-13 lead and put her in double figures. Southern Indiana went on another big run before halftime, putting together a 13-2 run inside the last four and a half minutes. Raley reached double digits for the game with 1:21 left in the second when she cashed in with a basket and a foul, hitting the free throw and giving USI a 41-18 lead.
 
The Screaming Eagles went into the intermission ahead 44-18. Raley and Haithcock led USI with 14 and 13 points, respectively, at the break. Southern Indiana shot 44.4 percent (16-36) in the first half while Bethel shot 26.1 percent (6-23) through the first two quarters. By halftime, USI had 16 fast break points, 19 points off turnovers, and 20 points in the paint.
 
Out of halftime, Shafford canned two straight triples in the first 90 seconds of the third to cross into double figures for the game and put USI up 50-18. Shafford and Raley were strong in the third quarter. Raley scored seven points quickly midway through the period to reach 21 points, setting a new career high after a made three with 4:34 remaining in the third. The three-pointer gave USI a 31-point lead, 59-28. Bethel had a 10-5 stretch in the back half of the third to make the score 64-39 USI heading into the fourth period.
 
About halfway into the fourth quarter, Southern Indiana’s junior guard Lexie Green (Indianapolis, Indiana) found her rhythm from deep. Green put two consecutive three-point shots through the bottom of the net, and then she followed those threes up with a successful old-fashioned three-point play, giving her nine quick points and a 77-43 lead for USI with five minutes remaining in the fourth. Green hit double digits before the game went final.
 
USI was led in scoring by Raley with 23 points, a new career best for the junior, shooting 7-8 from the floor and 8-9 at the free-throw line. Raley also finished with eight rebounds. Shafford ended up with her second consecutive double-double effort, tallying 13 points and 10 boards. Haithcock had 15 points, and Green posted 11 points, a new career high and her first career double-digit game. Senior guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) added seven points, six assists, and four steals. USI went 31-58 (53.4 percent) from the field, 8-17 (47.1 percent) from three, and 15-18 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe. Southern Indiana outrebounded Bethel 35-24 and totaled 23 assists. The Screaming Eagles also registered 20 fast break points, 29 points off turnovers, and 36 points in the paint.
 
For Bethel, the Pilots were led by senior forward Katie Kinker with 13 points and sophomore guard Maiah Shelton with 10 points. The Pilots shot 40.4 percent (21-52) from the floor, 23.5 percent (4-17) from three, and 75 percent (6-8) from the line.
 
The Screaming Eagles will go 10 days before their next game. USI will play on December 3 at Murray State at 2 p.m. to begin a five-game road swing.