Men’s basketball travels to Belmont on Sunday
Aces and Bruins square off at 2 p.m. in Nashville
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Looking to win its third Missouri Valley Conference game in a row, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team travels to Belmont for a 2 p.m. game on Sunday at the Curb Event Center. ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the broadcast.
Last Time Out
– Gabriel Pozzato and Tayshawn Comer recorded career scoring highs to lead the Purple Aces to a 78-74 home win over Murray State on Wednesday
– Pozzato finished with 29 points on a 10-of-14 shooting effort while Comer added 27 points and converted 13 of his 14 free throw tries
– UE shot 57.4% in the game after finishing at 58.0% in the win at Valpo; it marked the first time the Aces have shot 55% or higher in consecutive games since 2017 (66.7% at Bowling Green and 60.7% vs. Oakland City)
Ending Some Streaks
– Evansville’s win over Murray State was its first over the Racers since Dec. 21, 2019, ending a 5-game skid
– UE trailed by five at the break before rallying in the second half; it was the first win this season for UE when trailing at the half
– This was UE’s first win this season in a game decided by 10 points or less; the Aces entered the game 0-4
– The bench for UE did not score a single point against the Racers; this was the first instance that the Aces did not have a bench point since 1/5/19 at Illinois State
Career Game
– For the second time this season, Gabriel Pozzato was named the MVC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 27 after averaging 17 points and 6.5 boards against UIC and Valpo
– He scored 21 points at Valpo before setting a new career mark with 29 in the win over Murray State; these were his first 20-point games since the season opener
– After missing eight games in December and January, he returned on Jan. 18 against Belmont
– Pozzato has posted double figures in 12 of his 14 games this year
Top Tally
– Hitting 13 of his 14 free throw tries, Tayshawn Comer scored a career-best 27 points in the win over Murray State
– It bested his previous mark of 26, which came in the Jan. 1 win at SIU
– Averaging 17.8 PPG in MVC games, Comer is second in the league
– He has been on the floor for all 200 minutes of the last five contests
Scouting the Opponent
– Winners of six of their last eight games, Belmont enters Sunday’s contest with a 15-7 record and stand at 7-4 in MVC play
– On Wednesday, the Bruins dropped an 81-78 road game at Illinois State
– Belmont has one of the top offenses in the league and pace the MVC in scoring (81.68 PPG), assists (17.23/gm) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50)
– Jonathan Pierre leads the team with 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game; he is second on the squad with 82 assists
– Carter Whitt is averaging 13.3 PPG and has a team-best 109 assists
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