Aces finish non-conference play with 9-4 mark

With 7,316 fans packed in the stands, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team earned a hard-fought 78-76 overtime win over Murray State on Saturday evening at the Ford Center.

The 6^th-largest crowd for a UE game at the arena saw an entertaining one that came down to the final buzzer with the Purple Aces (9-4) outscoring the Racers (6-5) by a 9-7 martin in overtime to seal the win.

“The energy was great!  They were the sixth man and helped us a lot,” Sophomore DeAndre Williams said when asked about the crowd.  “They give us motivation to try and get another stop and play the right way.  It is good to know that there is a lot of support behind us and we work hard every day to reward that support.”

Williams along with junior Artur Labinowicz were Evansville’s top performers.  Williams had 18 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks while Labinowicz has his best game in an Aces uniform, tallying 24 points.  He was 9-for-12 from the field, 4-4 from outside and added four boards and three steals.

“We needed that (win), especially at home,” Labinowicz explained.  “Murray State got us last year.  Everyone contributed to this win from the players and coaches to the crowd.  Toughness was a big key.  Some days we are, some days we are not.  It shows we are tough to beat.”

K.J. Riley added 16 points in the game with nine coming in the opening 20 minutes of play.  For the night, the Aces shot an even 50% while holding the Racers to 40.3%.  Murray State tallied 46 rebounds with Evansville checking in with 28.  Tevin Brown led all players woith 31 points.  He had four triples and 11 free throw makes.

“Our guys don’t quit, they stay the course,” Aces head coach Walter McCarty said after the game.  “We came out a little relaxed in the second half and they started hitting three’s.  If we do our jobs and take care of the ball and do not relax, it is a different game.  They are a good team in close games and are a very well coached team.”

Evansville shot 51.6% in the opening 20 minutes while Artur Labinowicz scored 13 to give the Aces a 41-27 halftime lead.  The Aces had the early advantage, opening up an 11-4 lead in the first four minutes.  DeAndre Williams contributed to the first four baskets, notching three assists and one score.

Over the next six minutes, it was the Racers who took control, outscoring the Aces by a 12-0 margin to take a 16-11 edge near the midway point of the half.  Evansville missed seven shots in a row during the stretch while committing a turnover.  Noah Frederking drained a triple to end the streak.  His long ball was the first of three in a row for UE as Labinowicz followed it up with two in a row from outside.  UE converted four field goals in a row on their way to a 22-18 lead.

Williams along with K.J. Riley contributed 3-point plays in what would be a 22-4 run that gave the Aces a 36-22 advantage at the 2:02 mark.  Another trey from Labinowicz, coupled with a Shamar Givance basket, pushed the lead to 17 before a late triple made it a 14-point game at the break.

Labinowicz continued his stellar performance, adding seven tallies in the first five minutes of the latter period.  His efforts kept the lead in double figures, but Tevin Brown did his best to keep Murray State in the game, draining his second long ball of the night to make it a 50-40 game.  The Racers continued to edge their way back and made it back to single digits at the 9:56 mark when a basket cut the UE edge to 54-46.  Three more made it a 5-point game.

It was Labinowicz who ended the stretch with a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 56-49 inside of nine minutes remaining, but the rally by the Racers continued when an and-one by DaQuan Smith tied it up at 56-56 with 7:26 on the clock.  The back and forth action continued over the remainder of regulation as neither team would lead by more than a possession.

With 12.3 seconds left, DeAndre Williams looked to put UE in excellent shape.  With the shot clock reaching zero, he drained a triple with the assist from Givance to put UE up 69-66.  On the other end, it was Brown countering for the Racers, hitting the long trey with 0.5 left to send it to overtime.

John Hall’s second triple of the contest saw UE take a 75-71 advantage with 3:14 left in the extra session.  Once again, it was Brown hitting on the other end, cutting the gap back to one on the next possession.  The Aces were able to push the lead back out to three with 52 ticks remaining on a Givance layup before two Racer free throws made it a 1-point game with 35.4 seconds left.  Givance added another free throw before the ball went back to Murray State.  The Racers missed three attempts in the final 12 seconds, cementing the Aces ninth win of the season.

“All of these games are fun to win.  A win is a win, I do not care how you get it,” McCarty added.  “People forget – this is a team that has not played a lot of basketball together.  All of these ups and downs we are going through are great for us.  We are really building something special.  They are getting great experience in real game situations.  They are growing up at the same time and it is fun to watch.”

Missouri Valley Conference play will commence on December 31 when the Purple Aces travel to Springfield, Mo. to face Missouri State.