EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Despite mounting a late push to tie the game in the waning moments, the University of Evansville fell to Southern Illinois, 74-62, on Friday night in the Purple Aces’ Missouri Valley Conference-opener inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

“I think our depth got us. It was unfortunate, but I could see fatigue setting in and we started making some passes and decisions that aren’t us,” said Aces head coach Matt Ruffing. “It’s too bad because I thought we challenged them at halftime and I thought we got some really good things from them to make that push. (Southern Illinois) is a good team. For most of our players this was their first conference game. I have to give a lot of credit to them. When we made mistakes they made us pay.”

Junior guard Kerri Gasper powered the late comeback for the Aces, scoring 15 of her team-high 17 points in the final 20 minutes of action. Gasper also recorded six assists and four boards, surpassing her assist total from a season ago. Getting it done from beyond the arc, redshirt sophomore guard Marley Miller hit four three-pointers, scoring14 points, while picking up five rebounds as well. The Salukis were led by freshman Abby Brockmeyer who recorded a pair of game-highs with 27 points and 14 rebounds.

In the first quarter, a triple by Miller gave the Aces a 9-8 lead before sophomore center Kaylan Coffman increased Evansville’s advantage to three at 11-8. The Salukis responded with a 25-12 run spanning the final 11 minutes of the opening half to take a 33-23 lead into the break. During SIU’s spree, the Salukis held the Aces to just 3-12 (25%) shooting from the field and forced nine Evansville turnovers.

Coming out of the half, the Aces mounted a 12-5 run fueled by nine points by Gasper as Evansville shrank its deficit to just three at 38-35 with 6:07 left in the third period. The Aces were able to withstand a 7-15 shooting quarter from the Salukis to hold SIU’s lead to just three heading into the final frame.

Evansville continued to apply pressure on the Salukis in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as sophomore guard Macie Lively received a laser pass from Gasper and laid it in to tie the game at 58 with 5:20 remaining in the fourth quarter. After Brockmeyer put the Salukis back up by a pair, Miller drove through the lane and used her left hand to finish off the glass to tie the contest again, this time at 60. From this point, SIU took control, manufacturing a 14-2 run to close the game as the Salukis grabbed the 74-62 win.

The Aces out-shot SIU, 40.4% (21-52) to 38% (27-71), and won the rebounding battle, 41-39, but a 21-9 edge for SIU in turnovers proved costly for Evansville.

On Sunday, Evansville concludes its conference-opening weekend with a 1 p.m. showdown with Missouri State inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

UE looks to end 2-game skid

Following a quick break for Christmas, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team returns to action on Saturday with a 3 p.m. game at Loyola.  It will mark the second conference game for the Purple Aces, who fell in their league opener against Illinois State by a final of 72-66.

After missing seven games due to injury, Ryan Taylor was back in action against the Redbirds.  Taylor picked right up where he left off, scoring 22 points while taking a career-high 22 shots; it was a solid improvement for the junior against Illinois State as he notched 8 PPG against them in three games last year.  It marked his 5th 20-point game of the season; he had six such games last season.  With 21.4 points per game, Taylor would lead the MVC with enough games played.

Coming off the bench in the league opener, senior Dalen Traore set his career scoring mark with 11 points.  He did his work at the free throw line, connecting on 9 out of 10 attempts.  Traore is a solid 28/34 from the free throw line on the season, ranking in the top ten in the MVC draining 82.4% of his tries.

Evansville has enjoyed success in the series against the Ramblers, winning 27 out of 45 games overall and four of the last five games played.  Last season, the squads split the series with each team defending its home court.  UE hung on for a 60-58 win at the Ford Center while Loyola grabbed a 67-61 win at Gentile Arena.

Loyola is off to a 10-3 start on the season including a huge non-conference win at Florida on Dec. 6.  Four Ramblers average double figures led by Aundre Jackson.  Jackson averages 12.9 PPG while shooting 61% from the floor.  Clayton Custer sits at 12.5 points while Marques Townes averages 12.1.  Donte Ingram has notched 11.9 points while leading the way with 7.1 rebounds per contest.