Aces and Sycamores meet up at 12 p.m. CST

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Another road game is on the docket for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team as they travel to Indiana State for a 12 p.m. CST game on Saturday. ESPN+ and Purple Aces Radio Network will have the broadcast.

Last Time Out

– Evansville made several rallies on Wednesday before falling to Murray State by a final score of 79-69 at the Ford Center

– AJ Casey reset his career scoring high with 24 points on a 10-of-13 shooting effort

– Josh Hughes finished with 14 points while Bryce Quinet added 13

Another Reset 

– For the second time in four games, AJ Casey reset his career scoring high with 24 points against the Racers

– Casey hit 10 of his 13 field goal tries to eclipse he previous scoring high of 21, which came at Bradley on Dec. 29

– Over his last five games, Casey is shooting 71.1% from the field and 40.0% from outside

– Casey is averaging a team-high 15.7 PPG in MVC games while shooting 63.8%; for the season, Casey has posted 10.6 PPG

– Casey now has nine double digit games on the season including 5 of the last 6 games

– He picked up three steals in the first two MVC games and is 10th in the league with his season average of 1.29/game

On a Streak

– Bryce Quinet has reached double figures in four out of his first six MVC games

– After recording 10 in the opener versus Belmont, he had 11 at Bradley before scoring a team-high 13 points at Illinois State

– He added 13 points versus Murray State while hitting five field goals and dishing out four assists

– Quinet is 16-for-34 from the field in the last four games and has connected on four of his six 3-point tries

– The performance against Belmont was his first double digit game since posting 10 vs. Akron on Nov. 22

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball returned home to Liberty Arena Thursday night with a dominant bounce-back victory, downing Southeast Missouri State University by a final score of 77-46.
 
After a tough road loss last Saturday, USI Women’s Basketball (10-4, 4-1 OVC) established itself on both ends of the court on Thursday night, turning strong defense into offense and cashing in at the free-throw line. USI shot 35.6 percent (21-59) overall and over 36 percent (7-19) from beyond the arc. The Screaming Eagles converted at the foul line frequently, going 28-35 for 80 percent. USI also took control on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 45-26. 21 offensive boards led to 15 second-chance points. Defensively, USI forced 30 turnovers and recorded 17 steals, leading to 39 USI points off turnovers and 20 fast-break points.
 
Senior guard Ali Saunders led all scorers with 27 points on 6-10 shooting overall, 5-8 from three, and 10-11 at the charity stripe. The outing was Saunders’ second straight 20-point game and fourth in the last seven games. Saunders has scored in double figures in seven consecutive games.
 
Additionally, during Thursday’s game, Saunders established a new program record for most consecutive free throws made by setting a new mark of 41. The previous record has been held by Kathy Lauck since the 1993-94 season.
 
Other notable performances from Thursday’s triumph included junior guard Sophia Loden notching her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and junior forward Chloe Gannon also scored double digits with 10 points.
 
Southeast Missouri (5-9, 1-4 OVC) shot just under 35 percent (16-46) from the floor, under 27 percent from three (7-26), and below 64 percent (7-11) at the free-throw line.
 
The Screaming Eagles came out of the gates with a fast start, taking a quick 10-1 lead through the first four and a half minutes. Saunders was an early catalyst, tallying 14 first-quarter points. Meanwhile, the Eagles’ defense stifled the Redhawks into nine turnovers in the opening period, which USI converted into 18 points. USI led 24-10 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Saunders picked up where she left off from the first quarter by opening the second period with a three pointer. However, USI went the next three minutes without a field goal until freshman forward Channah Gannon scored to give the Eagles a 20-point advantage, 31-11, as USI’s defense continued to lock down the Southeast Missouri. The Eagles went on an 11-0 run in the latter portion of the second quarter, increasing their lead to 40-11 with three minutes left in the first half. After some exchanged baskets, USI went into the halftime break ahead 46-19. Saunders dropped 21 points in the first half, while USI capitalized with 25 points off turnovers defensively and 11 second-chance points on the offensive glass.
 
The two teams came out of halftime going back and forth. However, the contest turned into a low-scoring defensive battle. With USI up 54-26 and under five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Loden scored on offensive putback to register her sixth double-double of the season. SEMO scored four points in the final minute of the third, as USI led 58-32 at the end of the third period.
 
After a slow offensive start to the fourth quarter, Saunders tacked on to her scoring performance with a three-pointer at the 7:30 mark, extending the Eagles’ advantage to 30, 62-32. About a minute later, Chloe Gannon became the third Screaming Eagle in double figures with a hook shot in the paint. After a little bit of a dry spell from the floor in the middle of the fourth quarter, freshman guard Lily Graves drained back-to-back triples off the bench to put the final exclamation marks on USI’s big win.
 
Through Thursday’s action around the Ohio Valley Conference, USI sits in a three-way tie for first alongside Western Illinois University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a 4-1 conference record.
 
The Screaming Eagles turn back around on Saturday with an Ohio Valley Conference matchup against the University of Tennessee at Martin inside Liberty Arena. The game starts at 5 p.m.
 
F

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball battled Southeast Missouri State University but lost 84-76 Thursday evening at Liberty Arena. The Screaming Eagles go to 3-12 overall and 0-5 in the OVC, while the Redhawks are 9-7, 4-1 OVC.
 
USI had the early momentum in the contest, leading 7-0 and 12-4 before four minutes had passed in the contest. SEMO got into the scoring column and knotted the game at 14-14 with 13:13 to play in the first half.
 
The Screaming Eagles and Redhawks would trade leads until SEMO used an 11-2 run to take command, 34-26, with 5:11 before the intermission. USI would rally to cut the deficit to four points, 36-32, but SEMO would respond and take a 43-36 advantage into the break. Junior guard Ismail Habib led USI in the first 20 minutes with 11 points.
 
The second half did not get off to a good start for the Screaming Eagles as the Redhawks extended the lead to 51-38 with an 8-2 surge to start the second half. SEMO would continue to extend the margin to as many as 14 points, 54-40, before USI starts to chip away at the margin.
 
Junior guard Amaree Brown pulled the Screaming Eagles back to within seven, 58-51, when he was able to convert a three-pointer from the corner and an old-fashioned three-point play on back-to-back possessions with 13:53 remaining. USI closed the gap, 60-56, even further when senior guard Cardell Bailey connected on a pair of free throws and a three-pointer from the top of the key.
 
The Redhawks would respond to take back control with a 13-2 run would roll to an 84-76 final.
 
USI was led by its bench tonight in the scoring column with Bailey leading the way with 20 points. Bailey was five-of-14 from the field, including three from long range, and seven-of-seven from the stripe.
 
Brown added 15 points off the bench, going five-of-nine from the field with two three-pointers and three-of-four from the line in his USI debut.
 
Habib rounded out USI’s double-digit scorers with 18 points. The senior had six field goals, one three-pointer, and five-of-six in free throws. He also had a team-high five assists.