UE defeats Oakland City on Saturday

Blake Simmons scored 17 points, just one off of his career-high, To lead four double-digit scorers in a 98-56 victory over Oakland City on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.

“We did some things very well in the second half and we are hoping to build on that,” Purple Aces (6-2) head coach Marty Simmons said.  “Playing well and playing hard were two things we wanted to accomplish today.  We passed the ball very well today and that is a real asset for this team.”

Simmons’ final of 17 points was the top tally in the game.  He also notched five assists.  Duane Gibson notched 14 points for his top total of the season while Noah Frederking and Marty Hill each hit four 3-pointers on their way to 12 points.  K.J. Riley totaled nine points and nine helpers.  John Hall and Evan Kuhlman each had their top games at UE.  Hall hit four out of five shots to finish with 9 points and 7 rebounds and Kuhlman was 4-6 from the field on his way to 9 points and 8 boards.

“We wanted to execute and get better.  Without Ryan, we are still trying to fill that void,” Frederking said.  “We really played well today.”

Logan Worthington was the leading scorer for the Mighty Oaks (4-1) as he notched 16 points and 8 rebounds.  Andrew Scott finished the day with 13.

Evansville notched the first two buckets of the game before Oakland City got on the board.  Back-to-back triples gave them a 6-4 lead just over two minutes in.  Another trey by OCU’s Austin Robertson gave the Mighty Oaks a 9-7 lead before Noah Frederking got in on the scoring.

His long ball gave the Aces the lead for good at 10-9.  The freshman connected on four of his seven 3-point tries in the first half as he led all players with 12 at the break.    Also finding his shot from outside was Marty Hill, who played in his second game on Saturday.  His shot saw UE take a 26-18 lead with eight minutes remaining in the half.

Oakland City kept the intensity up as they rallied to get within four points at 31-27 inside of three minutes remaining in the period.  The Aces matched their effort, scoring the final eight tallies to take a 39-27 lead at the half.  Frederking added two more triples in the final minutes to cement the 12-point advantage.

After regrouping during the halftime break, Evansville came out on fire in the second half, shooting an unbelievable 76.7% (23/30) while outscoring OCU by a 59-29 margin.  The final score of 98-56 marked UE’s highest lead of 42 points.

As a team, the Aces hit 11 out of 18 3-point tries while finishing the game shooting 66.7% (38/57) from the field.  Along with its offensive prowess, the Aces also dominated defensively, outrebounding the Mighty Oaks, 40-23, while holding them to 36.4% shooting.

It is back to the road for the Purple Aces as they head north to Bowling Green, Ohio to face the Falcons.  Game time is 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday.  The game will be carried on ESPN3 while 91.5 WUEV will have the broadcast.

Graduate guard Hannah Noe scored 29 points as the Aces dropped a close battle to Austin Peay, 82-73, on the road Saturday afternoon in Clarksville, Tennessee.

“Our big emphasis was to attack and I thought we did okay and we made really good reads in that first quarter,” said Aces head coach Matt Ruffing. “We played really hard at the end and that’s positive and that’s something that will serve us really well moving forward. Credit to Austin Peay. They made open shots and pulled down offensive rebounds.”

Noe’s 29 points are the second-most in her career, just four shy of her 33-point outing in the Aces’ season-opening win over Murray State. Senior guard Brooke Dossett added 10 points, four boards, and four assists, while redshirt sophomore guard Marley Miller contributed eight points and six rebounds. Five Governors finished the contest in double figures with Brianah Ferby leading the way with 17 points.

In an opening quarter that featured six lead changes, a late run from the Aces helped provide Evansville with a 23-20 lead after the first ten minutes. Noe helped fuel an 8-2 Evansville run, knocking-down back-to-back three-pointers that tied the game at 10. Tied at 18 with 3:13 left in the quarter, the Aces put together a 5-2 run to earn a 23-20 lead heading into the second period.

Evansville carried its momentum over into the opening stages of the second as the Aces hit a pair of triples to open up a 29-23 advantage. The Governors responded with an 11-0 run that gave Austin Peay a 34-29 lead before the Aces closed back within a point at 35-34 at the half.

The Aces kept pace with Austin Peay to begin the third quarter as the deficit remained just one at 40-39 with 5:43 on the clock. From that point, the Governors mounted a 12-0 run that pushed Austin Peay’s advantage to 52-40 with just over two minutes left in the third.

In the final stanza, the Governors pushed their advantage as high as 17 points, but Evansville responded with pressure late to cut the deficit as thin as nine at 80-71 with 24 seconds remaining in the 82-73 loss.

The Aces outshot Austin Peay, 42.3% to 40.3% from the field and 57.9% to 35.5% from three-point range, while the Governors held a 44-34 advantage on boards.

Evansville wraps up a three-game road swing on Tuesday when the Aces take on No. 22 Kentucky at 6 p.m. in Lexington, Kentucky.

In preparation for the start of their inaugural seasons, the University of Evansville men’s and women’s track and field teams have released their indoor schedule.

The Aces open program history on January 20 at the Fort Wayne Duals at 11 a.m. hosted by Fort Wayne. Evansville then travels to Carbondale, Illinois to compete in the Don Denoon Invitational on February 3 before wrapping-up the indoor regular season at the EIU Friday Night Special in Charleston, Illinois on February 16. The Aces will make their first-ever MVC Championship appearance on February 24 and 25 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

On Thursday, the Missouri Valley Conference released the conference’s men’s and women’s track and field preseason coaches polls. The Aces’ men’s team received 11 points in the poll and was picked ninth while Evansville’s women’s team earned 13 points and were selected 10th. In the poll, Southern Illinois received five first-place votes and was tabbed as the conference favorites after finishing second in the indoor championships a season ago. On the women’s side, Illinois State picked up eight first-place nods after earning runner-up honors in both indoor and outdoor last season.