EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
FOOTNOTE: EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.
HOT JOBS
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Runner named MVC Freshman of the Week following Valley opener
Gov. Holcomb directs flags to be lowered in honor and tribute to the memory of President James Earl Carter, Jr.
INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Eric Holcomb is directing flags to be flown at half-staff across Indiana in honor and tribute to the memory of President James Earl Carter, Jr.
Flags should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on from now until sunset Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Gov. Holcomb is also requesting businesses and residents to lower their flags to half-staff.
UE women’s basketball takes first MVC road trip
The Purple Aces opened Missouri Valley Conference play on Sunday afternoon with the first day of the game among all 12 teams. UE fell to the reigning MVC Champions Drake in a 76-54 final at the Ford Center in Evansville’s second straight game at the downtown arena. The Aces had their best game forcing turnovers against a Division I opponent on Sunday. UE had 12 steals in 40 minutes during the Valley opener while forcing a total of 20 turnovers from Drake for the Bulldogs second-highest turnover game of the season.
Evansville will have its first road game and series in Valley play at the end of the week. The Aces begin the time away from the River City with a stop in Peoria on Thursday night for a 6 p.m. game with Bradley. UE then heads to Normal for a Saturday afternoon match up with Illinois State at 4 p.m. where they’ll play against former Evansville forward Nevaeh Thomas.
The Bradley Braves enter Thursday’s game after a close loss to Belmont on Sunday afternoon. The Braves made a 17-point comeback in the final 14 minutes but it wouldn’t be quite enough to overcome the Bruins in the 69-61 loss. Bradley is led by senior guard Soleil Barnes who transferred to the Braves after spending three years with the Toledo Rockets. Barnes is the only player on Bradley’s roster averaging double figures with 15.1 points a game.
The Illinois State Redbirds enter the weekend with a 6-6 overall record after dropping their first conference game to Murray State. Despite leading at the end of the first half and most of the third quarter Illinois State couldn’t hang on against the red hot Murray State Racers in the 91-80 defeat. The Redbirds will take on Indiana State before playing the Aces on Saturday afternoon. Illinois State has a quartet of double digit scorers in sophomore guard Shannon Dowell (15.5), graduate guard Elyce Knudsen (13.9), sophomore forward Nevaeh Thomas (13.0), and redshirt junior forward Addison Martin (10.4).
Senior guard Júlia Palomo continued to set career numbers in UE’s return to the court. After having a career-high game behind the arc to close out non-conference play, Palomo set a defensive high to open Valley action. Palomo led Evansville under the glass with seven rebounds against Drake, the MVC leaders on the defensive side of the ball.
UE travels to SIU on New Year’s Day
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On New Year’s Day, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team travels to Carbondale, Ill. to take on Southern Illinois in a 1 p.m. game at the Banterra Center. ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the broadcast.
Last Time Out
– Evansville put together its top defensive performance of the year, holding Missouri State to just 40 points on 25.9% shooting in a 17-point win on Dec. 29
– Four Purple Aces reached double figures with Cam Haffner finishing with 13
– Josh Hughes added 11 points, 9 boards, and 4 steals in the winning effort while Tayshawn Comer and Tanner Cuff added 11 and 10 points, respectively
Back to Form
– In three games leading to the Dec. 29 win over Missouri State, Cam Haffner averaged just 4.3 points per game
– That all changed versus the Bears as he scored a game-high 13 points to improve his season average to 12.8 PPG, which is 2nd on the team and 16th in the MVC
– In four games between Nov. 22 and Dec. 7, Haffner averaged 19 points and 7 rebounds
Clutch Performance
– In the Dec. 29 win over Missouri State, Josh Hughes reached double figures for the first time since Nov. 24 totaling 11 points while tying his career mark with 9 boards and picking up his top tally of 4 steals
– Entering the game, Hughes was mired in a 1-for-19 slump from 3-point range but rebounded to go 3-for-7 from outside
– Averaging 1.08 blocks per game, Hughes is 7th in the league
Top Rebounder
– With eight rebounds in the win over Missouri State, Tanner Cuff improved his season average to 6.5 per game, which paces the team and is 8th in the MVC
– Cuff added 10 points in the win to improve his season mark to 8.7 PPG
– He had the top game of his career against Chattanooga, scoring 18 while adding 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal
– His scoring mark bested his previous high of 16, which came last season vs. UIC
Scoutig the Opponent
– Southern Illinois begins the New Year with a 5-8 overall mark while dropping their first two MVC games
– On Sunday, the Salukis fell at UNI by a score of 78-67 and in their last home game, SIU fell to High Point, 94-81
– Ali Dibba leads the Salukis with his average of 15.4 points per game while shooting 50.7% from the field
– Kennard Davis Jr. holds an average of 13.8 PPG while Jarrett Hensley has averaged 11.1 PPG and a team-best 6.4 rebounds
– Playing five games in November, Elijah Elliott averaged 14.0 points but has not seen the floor since 11/22
USI grabs a New Year’s Eve win against Morehead State
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball returned from the holiday break Tuesday night at Liberty Arena, home of the Screaming Eagles, with a 79-65 win over Morehead State University to close out the 2024 calendar year.
With Tuesday’s win, Southern Indiana improved to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference after its third consecutive OVC win at home, remaining at the top of the conference standings. USI also improved to 8-0 inside Liberty Arena on the season. Morehead State dropped to 6-7 this season with a 1-2 mark in OVC play.
Southern Indiana jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead that forced Morehead State into a timeout nearly two minutes into the contest. Graduate forward Meredith Raley tallied five of USI’s first eight points. Morehead State responded out of the timeout to narrow the early deficit in the middle of the period, but back-to-back threes by the Screaming Eagles later in the first quarter pushed USI ahead by nine, 21-12. Raley continued to provide a strong presence, scoring 12 first-quarter points. USI led 30-17 after 10 minutes of action. USI’s 30 first-quarter points were a team season high for points in a quarter.
After shooting over 50 percent in the first quarter, the Screaming Eagles had a slower start to the second period with one field goal in the first three minutes of the frame. However, Southern Indiana picked up steam as the quarter went on. Sophomore forward Amiyah Buchanan scored consecutive baskets before back-to-back makes from Raley in the middle of the second extended USI’s advantage to 19, 42-23. USI’s lead reached as many as 22 late in the first half but went into halftime up by 18, 48-30. USI maintained its field-goal percentage of 50 percent going into the locker after effective looks in the paint.
Following a solid run late in the first half, junior guard Ali Saunders picked up where she left off before the intermission with USI’s first points of the second half near the eight-minute mark. Near the midway point of the third quarter, sophomore guard Sophia Loden canned her second triple of the game to increase Southern Indiana’s lead to 55-36. Loden reached double figures for the game by the end of the third quarter, as USI led 69-43 going to the fourth period.
Morehead State did not go quietly and battled back in the early portion of the fourth quarter. The Screaming Eagles were held to three points from the free-throw line and without a field goal for the first five and a half minutes of the fourth. Morehead State chipped away to pull within 16, 72-56, by the five-minute mark of the quarter. Raley ended the shooting drought with a layup to reach 20 points in the game. Morehead State continued to make a charge to climb within 12, 77-65, with one minute remaining. Senior guard Vanessa Shafford scored a wide-open layup with 40 seconds left to seal the game.
Despite a bit of a stagnant fourth quarter, Southern Indiana shot over 47 percent (30-63) for the game and 33 percent (6-18) from beyond the arc. USI went nearly perfect at the charity stripe, going 13-14 for over 92 percent at the line. USI outrebounded Morehead State 41-36. The Screaming Eagles were also plus-12 in points off turnovers and plus-14 in points in the paint. USI also had 27 bench points. Individually, Raley led USI with 20 points and nine rebounds. Shafford finished with 12 points and seven boards. Loden added 10 points with five rebounds and three steals.
Morehead State shot the ball for just under 39 percent (24-62) with eight three-pointers in 23 attempts for nearly 35 percent. Morehead State was 9-19 for 47.4 percent at the foul line. The Eagles also had three players in double digits with senior guard Aileen Marquez leading the way with 23 points.
The Screaming Eagles make their first road trip of the OVC season Thursday when USI heads to Tennessee Tech University for a 5:30 p.m. tilt in Cookeville, Tennessee. The Golden Eagles are 7-4 overall and 1-1 in conference action. The game can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM.
THUNDERBOLTS HOST 5,000+ FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE GAME
Screaming Eagles rally, fall short versus MSU, 70-68
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball’s second-half rally fell short versus Morehead State University, 70-68, Tuesday evening at Liberty Arena. The Screaming Eagles, who went 2-2 in the four-game homestand, are 6-7 overall and 1-2 in OVC action, while the MSU Eagles are 8-6, 3-0 OVC.
After USI spotted MSU a 6-0 lead, junior guard Damoni Harrison single-handedly kept the Screaming Eagles in the game by scoring all 10 of the team’s points in the first eight minutes of the contest. Harrison was four-of-five from the field, while the rest of the team missed four attempts.
The Screaming Eagles would stay close until they unleashed a 12-2 run to erase a 10-point gap (27-17) to tie the contest at 29-29 on a Harrison layup with 1:21 left in the half. Junior guard Braxton Jones led the USI offensive surge with six of points.
MSU, however, would get the final two buckets of the half and led 33-29 at the break. Harrison finished the half with a team-best 14 points, while Jones and junior guard Jayland Randall followed with seven and six points, respectively.
In the second half, the MSU Eagles expanded their halftime margin to 11 points, 45-34, in the first six minutes. MSU would continue to nurse an advantage near double digits through much of the final 20 minutes until USI began to rally with 3:56 to play.
The Screaming Eagles closed the gap to two points, 66-64, on a jumper by junior guard Jack Campion with 21 seconds remaining, capping off a 12-3 run. The MSU Eagles took the lead back to four before Harrison got USI back to with two for a second time, 68-66, with 14 ticks left on the clock.
After MSU split a pair of free throw attempts with 13.7 seconds to lead 69-66, USI closed to one, 69-68, on two free throws by Harrison to keep the Screaming Eagles’ hopes alive with 8.4 left. MSU split a second trip to the stripe to push the lead to the eventual 70-68 final before USI was short on one last attempt.
For the game, Harrison led the USI scorers with a season-high 24 points. He was eight-of-13 from the field and eight-of-nine from the stripe, while tying for the team lead with six rebounds.
Jones rounded out the double-digit scorers with a season-high 20 points. He was eight-of-15 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, and two-of-three from the line.
Campion finished the night with four assists and moved into the USI top 15 all-time with 231 career assists. The junior guard is 15th all-time, surpassing Bobo Drummond (228; 2014-17).
As a team, USI was outrebounded, 41-31, and finished the game 42.1 percent from the field (24-56).