EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball begins a three-game homestand at Screaming Eagles Arena Wednesday when Anderson University (Indiana) visits for a 7 p.m. contest. The homestand also includes visits from Indiana State University Sunday at 3 p.m. and St. Mary’s of the Woods College December 15 at 7 p.m.
 
Tickets are available on-line at USIScreamingEagles.com or by visiting the Screaming Eagles Arena Ticket Office between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ in addition to being heard on ESPN 97.7FM (http://listentotheref.com) and 95.7FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
USI hopes to get back on track after a grueling four-game road trip that included trips to northern New York, Ohio, and Illinois. The Eagles were 1-3 on the road-swing and was led by senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) with 12.8 points during the four games.
 
The final game of the road swing was Sunday and saw the Eagles start fast before going cold in a 78-61 loss at Chicago State University. Simmons had a team-best 14 points in the setback.
 
The Eagles, who are 2-0 at home this season, have four players averaging in double-digits this season. Simmons leads the way with 14.8 points per game, while senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) follows with 11.2 points per game and a team-best 9.2 rebounds per contests.
 
Junior guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) and junior guard Gary Solomon (Detroit, Michigan) round out the double-digit scorers with 10.5 points and 10.0 points per outing, respectively.
 
Anderson is 3-5 overall in 2022-23 after snapping a four-game losing streak with a 67-65 victory over Mt. St. Joseph University Saturday. The Ravens were led in the victory by guard/forward Tate Ivanyo, who had 16 points. Ivanyo also leads the Ravens for the season with 16.3 points per outing.
 
USI won the only meeting with Anderson in 2004-05, 94-61, in the Physical Activities Center. Center Randy Holbrook led the Eagles in the victory with 23 points, while forward Chris Thompson had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The midway point of the homestand is Sunday when Indiana State visits USI for the first time in program history for a men’s basketball game. The Sycamores have been on a roll to start the 2022-23 campaign, posting an 8-1 mark, and visits Southern Illinois University Wednesday before coming to Evansville.  
 

Aces return to the Ford Center for two of the next three

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Returning to non-conference play for its next three games, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team opens the stretch on Wednesday versus Campbell inside the Ford Center.  Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ having the coverage.

Last Time Out

– A furious second-half rally saw the Purple Aces trim a 20-point halftime deficit to just six points before Northern Iowa fended off the challenge to take a 72-55 win on Saturday in Cedar Falls

– The Panthers took an 18-4 lead out of the gate and would lead for the duration of the contest

– Kenny Strawbridge Jr. led the way once again as he recorded 17 points

– Antoine Smith Jr. registered 10 points while playing over 32 minutes

Still in the Top Ten

– With his scoring average of 16.8 points per game, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. continueus to lead the Aces while ranking 9th in the Missouri Valley Conference

– Scoring 25 points against Fairfield, Strawrbridge reached the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season

– His top scoring output of the season saw him register 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting

– Over the last six games, he is averaging 17.8 points while shooting an 44.8% (39-for-87) from the field

– Since hitting four of his six 3-point attempts against Robert Morris, he has two of his last 11 from outside

Making the Start

– In his first start of the 2022-23 season, Antoine Smith Jr. scored 10 points and hauled in five rebounds at Northern Iowa

– For the first time this season, Smith has posted back-to-back double digit games as he totaled 12 against SIU and 10 at UNI

– Smith played a season-high 32:29 against the Panthers and hauled in five rebounds, his highest total since the opener at Miami

– He was a perfect 5-of-5 in the Valley opener against the Salukis on the way to his top scoring game of the season

Leading on the Boards

– Marvin Coleman II added seven more rebounds to his season tally at UNI and paces Evansville with an average of 6.4 per game

– His average is tied for 10th in the MVC and he has recorded 7 or more caroms in six of the ten games

– In the finale of the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic in Savannah, Marvin Coleman II recorded 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals

– He led the Aces in all three categories in the contest and is tied for 18th in the MVC with 2.5 assists/game

Scouting the Opponent

– Campbell enters Wednesday’s game with a 4-4 record after dropping their last contest at East Carolina by a 79-69 final on Friday

– On Nov. 27, the Camels picked up an 87-85 home overtime win over Stetson

– Ricky Clemons paces Campbell with 13.3 points per game while shooting 57.1% from outside

– Clemons also leads the team with 31 assists, 14 steals and 34.2 minutes per game

– Joshua Lusane (11.0 PPG), Jesus Carralero (10.6 PPG) and Anthony Dell’Orso (10.3 PPG) also average double figures

– Jay Pal is their leading rebounder with 7.1 per game