Aces and Racers play at 3 p.m. Saturday

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Wrapping up a week on the road, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team will be in Murray, Ky. on Saturday to face Murray State.  Tip is set for 3 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ having the coverage.

Setting the Scene

– UE looks to avenge a 78-61 home loss to the Racers on New Year’s Day

– MSU opened the game on a 23-1 run and would never relinquish the advantage over the duration of the contest

– Four Purple Aces reached double figures in the game, led by Marvin Coleman II’s 14 tallies

– The last three games between the squads in Murray have been decided by an average of 2.7 points

Last Time Out

– Belmont scored the opening six points and never looked back, taking a 95-63 win over UE on Wednesday evening in Nashville

– Marvin Coleman II and Gage Bobe recorded 15 and 14 points, respectively

– The Bruins hauled in 51 boards, the most any team has had this season against UE

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

– Preston Phillips reset his career scoring high with 11 points at Belmont on Feb. 16

– It marked the second double digit game of his UE career, both coming in the last three outings

– Going 5-for-8 from the floor in Nashville, Phillips scored 11 while adding 7 boards

– In a game that his teammates said was the best they saw him play, Phillips recorded 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting in the win over UNI while adding 3 steals, 3 rebounds and a pair of assists

Sharpshooter

– Hitting 10 of his last 19 attempts from long range, Gage Bobe is shooting 38.4% on the season but is even better in the MVC

– Bobe ranks second in conference games, shooting 44.9% from 3-point range

– For the fifth time this season, he reached double figures as he registered 14 at Belmont; four of those have come in the last nine games

– His top career game came at Valpo as he scored 22 points while draining six of his 11 3-point tries and seeing 36:49 of work

– Over the last six games, Bobe has knocked down 17 of his 37 3-point tries

– He is a 38.4% outside shooter on the season but after starting the season hitting 3 of his first 22 attempts (13.6%), he has knocked down 31 of the last 67 (46.03%) since Dec. 21

Scouting the Opponent    

– Murray State halted a 3-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 76-75 road win at Illinois State

– The Racers are currently 14-13 overall and 9-8 in the Valley

– Rob Perry leads three double figure scorers for MSU with 14.8 points per game and has converted a team-best 51 triples this season

– Jamari Smith follows with 11.6 PPG while JaCobi Woods checks in at 10.8

– DJ Burns leads the Racers with 6.7 rebounds per contest

– Perry and Smith were the top performers for Murray State in the first meeting on New Year’s Day, recording 14 points each

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball fought off a late challenge by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to post an 82-81 victory Thursday evening in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Screaming Eagles go to 15-13 overall and 8-7 in the OVC, while the Trojans are 8-20, 4-11 OVC.   
 
With the win, USI rises into a three-way tie for fifth with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Tennessee State University. The Eagles also are within shouting distance of second in the conference, one game behind the three-way tie of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Southeast Missouri State University, and Tennessee Tech University.  
   
USI had to rally to stay in the game during the first half as Little Rock built a lead of as many as 11 points (26-15). The Eagles, trailing 34-26, went on a 9-0 surge to grab the lead, 35-34, with 3:39 left before the intermission.
 
After USI and Little Rock traded the lead four times in the final four minutes of the half, the Trojans took a 43-40 lead into halftime. USI senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) had a team-best 16 points in the opening 20 minutes, while sophomore forward Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) posted 13 first half points.
 
In the second half, Little Rock had the early momentum and extended the margin to eight points twice (48-40, 50-42). USI came back with an 23-13 run to knot the game, 65-65, and eventually took the lead, 71-70, on an old-fashion three-point play by Swope with 10 minutes on the clock.
 
After the Trojans briefly regained control and posted a 78-74 lead, USI made their final push to take the lead for good. The Eagles used an 8-0 run, sparked by back-to-back three-point field goals by Swope and senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio), to pull in front, 80-78.
 
Polakovich increased the lead to four points, 82-78, with a layup with 2:03 to play before the Eagles’ defense took over. USI held Little Rock without a field goal over the last minutes and without a shot attempt in the Trojans’ last chance with nine seconds to play.
 
In the final statistics, Polakovich led the Eagles in the scoring column with 27 points and concluded the game with 10 rebounds for this 12^th double-double of the year. The 27 points tied a season and USI career best.
 
Polakovich was a sizzling 11-of-13 from the field and finished his scoring with five free throws.
 
Simmons and Swope followed Polakovich in the scoring column with 21 points each. The trio marked the first time since February 12, 2015, that USI had three players with 20-or-more points in a game (Bobo Drummond (23), TeNale Roland (21), Gavin Schumann (21) versus the University of Missouri-St. Louis).
 
USI graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) rounded out USI’s double-digit scorers with 11 points. Lakes’ first two three-point bombs early second half broke Little Rock’s momentum, while a third tied the game at 68-68.
 

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – It’s tight at the top.

 

Indiana women’s swimming and diving earned three medals Thursday (Feb. 16) night to remain among the leaders at the 2023 Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside Canham Natatorium.

No. 8-ranked IU had top-eight finishers in all five events contested in day two of the conference championships and brought its point total to 429.5 points halfway through the meet. The Hoosiers sit just 11.5 points behind No. 6 Ohio State. No. 16 Michigan is not far behind with 423.5 points.

“We’re in a fantastic team battle,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “It’s really four teams: Ohio State, Michigan, ourselves and Wisconsin. I thought we swam well and so did they.”

Indiana’s night was highlighted by junior Anne Fowler’s Big Ten title on the 1-meter springboard. Fowler tallied 324.60 points to capture her second-career conference championship and first on the 1-meter board. She had previously won on 3-meter as a freshman in 2021. Her fellow divers, sophomores Skyler Liu (286.45) and Megan Carter (285.65) finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the championship final.

“What a great day for the girls,” IU head diving coach Drew Johansen said. “I am so happy for Anne winning her second Big Ten title. The energy from all the ladies, swim and dive, is fantastic. We are in a tight race with multiple teams, and I look forward to seeing the girls try to separate from the pack tomorrow.”

“It was great to see Anne Fowler get a win,” Looze added. “She won her freshman year, and she showed a lot of perseverance through injuries and other adversity. To see her come back from that, that was the highlight of the night for us and for our staff.”

IU’s medal count stretched to five as the Hoosiers collected three top-three finishes on Thursday, one in each discipline. In two days, IU has won two gold, two silver and one bronze medal.

The Hoosiers have captured medals in all three relays thus far thanks to Thursday’s 400-yard medley relay runner-up finish. IU went 3:29.82, its first time under 3:30 since it won four straight conference titles in the event from 2015-19. It also went lower than the previous pool record, set by IU in 2016. Sophomore Anna Peplowski set the tone with the fastest leadoff split of the night in 51.62. Her sister, senior Noelle Peplowski, junior Elizabeth Broshears and freshman Kristina Paegle joined her on the podium.

Indiana also earned silver in the first event of the night, as sophomore Ching Hwee Gan went a career-best 4:38.96 to capture the runner-up position. Gan was one of three Hoosier sophomores to finish in the A final, as Mariah Denigan (4:40.52) and Elyse Heiser (4:41.48) each posted personal records while finishing fourth and sixth. A year ago, Heiser placed 27th in the same event with a time of 4:54.56.

IU had a pair of top-eight finishers in both the 200 IM and 50 free, as well. Seniors Noelle Peplowski (1:55.89) and Mackenzie Looze (1:57.38) placed fourth and sixth in the individual medley, while Paegle (21.91) and senior Ashley Turak (22.35) finished fourth and tied for seventh in the sprint freestyle event. Paegle’s 21.91 was a hundredth of a second short of tying Cora Dupre’s program record set in 2020.

“I was proud of how we did,” Looze said. “We’ll need our depth to come into play. We did not score a B final. Although A finals are great, we’re going to need those B finals. We need to get those tomorrow and on Saturday. That will be the key. We have been a deep team, now we need to show it in the last couple days of this meet.”

TEAM SCORES
1. Ohio State – 441

2. Indiana – 429.5
3. Michigan – 423.5
4. Wisconsin – 347
5. Minnesota – 297
6. Northwestern – 244
7. Penn State – 200
8. Rutgers – 188
9. Nebraska – 164
10. Purdue – 151
11. Iowa – 107
12. Illinois – 106

    RESULTS
    500 FREESTYLE

13. Ching Hwee Gan – 4:38.96 (Silver, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
14. Mariah Denigan – 4:40.52 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
15. Elyse Heiser – 4:41.58 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)

 

200 IM

4. Noelle Peplowski – 1:55.89 (NCAA B Cut)
5. Mackenzie Looze – 1:57.38 (NCAA B Cut)

 

50 FREESTYLE

4. Kristina Paegle – 21.91 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
5. Ashley Turak – 22.35 (NCAA B Cut)

 

1-METER DIVE

1. Anne Fowler – 324.60 (NCAA Zone Qualifier)
2. Skyler Liu – 311.10 (NCAA Zone Qualifier, Career Best)
3. Megan Carter – 285.25 (NCAA Zone Qualifier)

400 MEDLEY RELAY

2. Anna Peplowski, Noelle Peplowski, Elizabeth Broshears, Kristina Paegle – 3:29.82 (NCAA A Cut)

   UP NEXT

Indiana will look to set the tone for another great night when they open day three with the morning preliminary session on Friday (Feb. 17) beginning at 10 a.m. ET. The 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 3-meter dive and 200 freestyle relay will be contested.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball went toe-to-toe against first-place University of Arkansas at Little Rock Thursday night, but a physical battle went Little Rock’s way by a final score of 58-50.
 
Just like the first matchup in January, Southern Indiana fought hard from the opening tip against Little Rock, as both matchups were determined by single digits.
 
The game started in a back-and-forth battle with physicality on both ends of the floor. The Screaming Eagles led 5-4 through the first 2:15 following a three-pointer from sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana). Little Rock then went on a 10-0 run in the middle of the first quarter to jump ahead 14-5. Southern Indiana answered with a strong finish to the first period, orchestrating an 8-0 run. USI finished the last two minutes with aggressiveness into the paint, which included two strong drives by junior guard Lexie Green (Indianapolis, Indiana). Little Rock led 14-13 through the opening quarter.
 
The game remained a one-possession battle in the first minutes of the second quarter. Senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) made a strong scoop shot to tie the game at 18 with five and a half left in the second period. One possession later, junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) gave USI a two-point lead, muscling one up and in. The two sides exchanged leads over the next few minutes. Shafford swished a three-pointer to put USI back up, 26-24, with 1:30 left in the first half. In the last minute, Little Rock scored four of its own to take a 28-26 lead into halftime.
 
In the beginning half of the third quarter, Little Rock moved ahead by as many as six points. With under 6:30 left in the third period, Haithcock made an individual push to cut into the deficit. Haithcock recorded a three-point play and made a jumper to make the score 36-35 Little Rock with 5:30 left in the third. Seconds later, senior forward Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri) cashed in on a three-point play to tie the game at 38. Little Rock went ahead by as many as five in the final few minutes of the third, but Southern Indiana cut the deficit down to two after successful trips to the foul line. Little Rock led 46-44 going into the fourth quarter.
 
Early fourth-quarter momentum went in favor of Little Rock, as the Trojans went on a 9-0 run to grab a 55-44 lead. With under three minutes to play, Southern Indiana made a push to cut the deficit down to seven, which included baskets by Haithcock and Green. Inside the final minute, the Screaming Eagles were out of the scoring column.
 
On the night, Haithcock led USI with 15 points and nine rebounds. Shafford posted 13 points with four rebounds. Green finished with eight points. Southern Indiana went 17-45 for 38 percent from the field, 14-20 for 70 percent at the line, and made a pair of threes.
 
Little Rock was led by redshirt junior forward Sali Kourouma with 18 points. The Trojans had two others in double figures. Little Rock was 23-57 for 40 percent shooting and 12-17 for 71 percent at the stripe. Little Rock won the rebounding battle 38-29.
 
With Thursday’s results, Southern Indiana’s record moved to 11-15 overall and 5-10 in the OVC, entering a tie for eighth place in the standings. Little Rock improved to 17-9 this season and 14-1 in OVC play, jumping Eastern Illinois University for first place in the conference.