Ryan Taylor notches third 20-point game in a rowÂ
Ryan Taylor led four University of Evansville double figure scorers with 21 points but four Southern Illinois scores finished with 12+ points to lead the Salukis to a 65-63 victory over the University of Evansville men’s basketball team at SIU Arena.
Taylor, who scored 16 points in the first half, hit 9 of his 18 attempts on the night for the Purple Aces (10-6, 0-3 MVC). Blake Simmons notched 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting while Dru Smith and K.J. Riley finished the night with 10 apiece.
“We have to get better, we just made too many mistakes tonight. Mistakes were made in critical spots,†Aces head coach Marty Simmons said. “Give our guys credit, they battled back and were resilient; we just cannot keep turning the ball over like we have been.â€
Aaron Cook was the leading scorer for SIU (10-6, 2-1 MVC) as he posted 14 points on 5-of-
7 shooting. Armon Fletcher and Tyler Smithpeters notched 13 apiece while Sean Lloyd had 12.
Both teams knocked down triples in their opening possessions of the game. Ryan Taylor gave UE its first advantage of the night as he scored the first five for the Aces and seven of the first nine as the Aces extended the lead to 11-6. After SIU tied the score at 11-11, Evansville had its best run of the game, hitting 5 out of 8 shots to take a 23-16 advantage with 6:37 left in the half.
Facing its largest deficit of the game, the Salukis roared back with a 14-2 run as they connected on 6 out of 7 shots. The run was capped off by a Kavion Pippen dunk with 2:56 on the clock. The seventh bucket by Taylor helped the Purple Aces cut the halftime deficit to three at 32-29. He had 16 in the half.
Southern Illinois continued its hot shooting from long range, connecting on 7 of its first 10 attempts while pushing its lead back to six points (42-36) in the opening moment of the final period. Evansville never gave up as another Taylor score set the team on a run that knotted the score at 44-44. K.J. Riley finished it off with a pair of free throws.
Just past the halfway point, Blake Simmons gave UE its first lead of the second half with a drive to the basket to make it a 46-45 game. After SIU tied it up, Simmons was the difference-maker once again, knocking down a jumper to give UE a 48-46 lead. After Marty Hill broke another tie, Taylor was true from 3-point range with six minutes left to give the Aces their first 2-possession lead of the second half at 53-49.
With four minutes left, the Salukis erased the UE advantage and retook the lead at 56-55 thanks to a long ball from Tyler Smithpeters. The teams swapped the lead three times over the next minute before an and-one by Riley made it a 60-58 game under the 3-minute mark. Simmons’ sixth bucket of the evening gave UE a 4-point advantage (62-58).
The resilient Salukis tied the game in one possession. Aaron Cook hit a shot and drew a foul. After missing the free throw, SIU grabbed the rebound and Armon Fletcher scored to tie it up. Southern Illinois had a chance to take the lead with a minute left, but a missed dunk turned into a free throw make by Marty Hill that put the Aces back in front at 63-62.
Fletcher knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with 25.6 seconds remaining to help SIU retake the lead and give UE one final shot at the win. The team had two shots underneath the basket, but both fell short and SIU appeared to have possession. The play was reviewed and the ball went back to Evansville with 9.3 ticks left. A turnover on the inbound helped SIU return to the line where they hit one out of two and finished off the 65-63 win.
A 2-game home stand awaits the Aces as they return to the Ford Center to face Bradley in a 3 p.m. game on Saturday before welcoming Missouri State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Saturday’s contest against the Braves is the annual Courier & Press game. Fans can redeem vouchers in the Courier & Press or actual copies of the paper dated Dec. 31 through Jan. 6 to get $5 tickets. They can be redeemed at the Carson Center or Ford Center up to the start of the game.
 
