Cooper’s second half propels No. 21 Trailblazers past Malcolm X College

VINCENNES, Ind. – The No. 21-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers returned to action Saturday afternoon for a weekend matinee against Malcolm X College from Chicago, Ill.

The Trailblazers overcame a slow start and were guided by 21 second half points by sophomore Michael Cooper (Minneapolis, Minn.) as the Blazers closed out an 87-66 victory over the visiting Hawks.

Vincennes got off to a slow start Saturday afternoon, with Malcolm X coming out and scoring the first eight points of the game.

The Trailblazers were able to rebound though and answered back by outscoring Malcolm X 21-8 to take a 21-16 lead.

VU closed out the opening half strong, riding an 8-0 scoring run to head into the halftime break leading the Hawks 38-32.

Coming out of the locker room the Trailblazers took their game up another level, opening the second half by outscoring Malcolm X 19-6 to take a 57-38 lead.

Malcolm X would answer back and cut the VU lead back down to 14 before the Blazers used another 8-0 scoring run to open up a 71-48 advantage.

Vincennes was able to keep the defensive pressure up all night as VU was able to close out the game at the free throw line and pick up an 87-66 victory over Malcolm X College.

The Trailblazers were led offensively by sophomore Michael Cooper who finished his night with 21 points, all coming in the second half, while also adding a team-high six steals and three rebounds to his totals.

Freshman Dayton Williams (Louisville, Ky.) finished his night with 15 points and eight rebounds to go along with three assists.

Sophomore and 2024 NJCAA All-American Lebron Thomas (Bishopville, S.C.) was the third VU scorer in double figures, finishing his day with 11 points, three assists and three rebounds.

Freshman Jalen Calloway (Chicago, Ill.) just missed out on a double-double, ending with nine points and nine rebounds.

Freshman Kenaz Ochogwu (E. Providence, R.I.) got his first collegiate start Saturday and finished the game with eight points, while sophomore Bryan Akanmu (Paris, France) added seven points and team-highs 10 rebounds and four assists.

The Trailblazers will return to the P.E. Complex floor Tuesday, Nov. 19 when VU hosts another Region 4 opponent, welcoming Kankakee Community College from Kankakee, Ill.

Tip-off time for your Trailblazers Tuesday night will be 7 p.m. eastern.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (87): Michael Cooper 5-8 11-13 21, Kenaz Ochogwu 4-5 0-0 8, Jalen Calloway 4-5 1-2 9, Lebron Thomas 2-6 7-10 11, Dayton Williams 7-15 0-1 15, Christian Andrews 1-3 1-1 4, Meyoh Swansey 0-1 0-0 0, Bryan Akanmu 2-4 3-4 7, Taveon Smith 0-0 0-2 0, Travelle Bryson 3-6 1-2 8, Hussein Elmaraghy 1-1 2-3 4, Team 29-54 26-38 87.

Malcolm X – 32   34 – 66

VU (5-1) – 38   49 – 87

Three-point goals: VU 3 (Williams, Andrews, Bryson). Rebounds: VU 47 (Akanmu 10). Assists: VU 17 (Akanmu 4). Steals: VU 13 (Cooper 6). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (Cooper, Calloway, Williams, Bryson, Smith). Turnovers: VU 27. Personal Fouls: VU 17. Fouled out: None.

Aces fall in road finale

UE home on Wednesday to face Indiana State

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Angelica Gonzalez recorded a match-high 11 kills in Saturday’s road match that saw the University of Evansville volleyball team fall by a 3-0 final at Valparaiso.

Ainoah Cruz had another strong defensive performance, totaling 25 digs.  Kora Ruff added 21 assists and 10 digs.  Elise Swistek finished the night with 10 kill to lead the way for the Beacons.

Set 1 – Valpo 25, UE 21

Gonzalez got the night started with a kill and the Purple Aces jumped out to a 7-5 lead.  The Beacons knotted the score at 8-8 before Gonzalez’ third kill of the match opened a 4-0 stretch that put UE on top at 12-8.  Kora Ruff recorded a service ace during the run.  Carlotta Pascual tallied a kill that solidified a 14-11 Evansville lead and that is when Valpo rallied with four in a row to go in front at 15-14.

Despite the rally, UE got back on track as a Chloe Cline kill opened a 4-0 run that gave the Aces an 18-16 lead.  Once again, VU had the answer.  Trailing 20-18, they finished the set on a 7-1 run to take the set.

Set 2 – Valpo 25, UE 19

Evansville enjoyed another solid start to game two.  Josdarilee Caraballo picked up a kill that gave her squad a 7-4 lead.  Three in a row by the Beacons tied it up before the Aces went back in front at 11-9 when Maddie Hawkins registered an ace.  The teams swapped the lead on multiple occasions in the middle portion of the set, leading to a 19-18 Valpo lead.  Another late rally saw the Beacons scored six of the last seven points to take a 2-0 match lead.

Set 3 – Valpo 25, UE 12

With the score tied at 2-2, the Beacons reeled off eight in a row to take a commanding 10-2 lead.  From there, they would go on to clinch the match with a 25-12 decision.

On Wednesday, the Aces welcome Indiana State for a 6 p.m. match to complete the regular season.

-www.GoPurpleAces.com-

Cam Haffner sets career mark against Radford

Junior scored a career-high 23 points 

NOVEMBER 17, 2024

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Junior Cam Haffner continued to roll, scoring a career-high 23 points to lead the University of Evansville men’s basketball team in Saturday’s contest against Radford.

After leading by as many as 22 in the first half and 18 at the break, the Purple Aces fell to the Highlanders by a final score of 92-81.  Evansville had it going from outside, tying the program record with 17 3-point makes.  Haffner hit six triples while Gabriel Pozzato and Josh Hughes hit four apiece.  Pozzato scored 20 for UE while Hughes finished with 19.  Leading Radford was Jarvis Moss, who posted 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

“This one stings.  Being up as much as we were at home, you have to win these types of games,” UE head coach David Ragland said after the game.  “We need to play a full 40 minutes and have not done that to this point.  We need to look in the mirror and get better individually and as a team.”

Radford opened with a long possession, grabbing three offensive rebounds before taking a 2-0 lead.  Evansville posted the next three with Gabriel Pozzato knocking down a triple.  After the Highlanders battled back to take 10-8 lead, the Aces kicked it into gear.  Over the next five minutes, UE went on an 11-0 run to take a 19-10 advantage.

Connor Turnbull scored four during the run while Tayshawn Comer capped it off with a triple.  On the defensive side, UE held Radford to 0-for-4 from the field while forcing four turnovers.  Kaia Berridge, Cam Haffner, and Josh Hughes added 3-pointers over the next three minutes to give Evansville a 31-15 lead with 8:46 left in the half.  Michael Day played a pivotal role during the rally, earning three assists that resulted in nine points.

A quick spurt by RU cut the deficit to 12 before the Aces flexed their muscle once again, doubling up the Highlanders at 44-22 inside of the 5-minute mark.  Hughes converted two more triples.  Over the final minutes, Radford closed slightly, making it a 50-32 game at the break.  Evansville’s outside shooting made the difference as UE knocked down 12 triples in 21 attempts.

Out of the half, the Highlanders came out hitting on all cylinders.  Hitting seven of their first nine attempts, Radford scored the first 16 points of the period to get within two points.  Evansville missed its first five attempts of the period while turning it over three times.  Josh Hughes ended the stretch with a triple.  Another three by Haffner made it a 56-48 game, but a tenacious Highlander squad continued to battle.

As the half approached its midway point, a flagrant foul turned out to be a 5-point possession as Radford knotted the game at 67-67.  Hughes was the hero once again, breaking the tie, however, the momentum did not last as a triple gave RU the lead with 7:31 remaining.  The teams swapped the lead four times over the next two minutes resulting in a 76-75 Highlander lead.

Holding a 78-76 advantage with 4:14 remaining, Radford scored eight in a row over the ensuing two minutes to go up 86-76.  Evansville was unable to overcome the deficit, falling by a 92-81 final.  Highlighting the comeback for Radford was a 22-for-27 (81.5%) effort from the field in the final 20 minutes as they finished the game shooting 63.6%.  UE finished at 50.0% while going 17-for-35 (48.6%) from long range.  RU wrapped the day up with a 29-24 edge on the glass.

-www.GoPurpleAces.com-