For the second time this season, the Purple Aces make their way to California as a game on Sunday at Fresno State is on tap.  Game time is 3 p.m. CT.

Fans can tune into Sunday’s 3 p.m. CT game on the Mountain West Network, which is a free video service offered through the Mountain West website.  Sunday’s contest is the resumption of the MVC/Mountain West Challenge, which UE also took part in from 2010 through 2012, falling in games against Air Force, TCU and Colorado State.

A free throw in the second half marked the 2,000th point in the legendary career of D.J. Balentine; he finished with 26 points in the victory over Norfolk State on his way to the mark.  He became the 4th player in program history, the 16th in the MVC record books and 32nd player among all of the Division I schools in the State of Indiana to do so.  Colt Ryan reached 2,000 in a home overtime win against Drake in 2013 while Marcus Wilson hit the mark in an MVC Tournament win over Bradley in 1999.

A career night against Norfolk State saw Jaylon Brown score 17 points, eclipsing his previous high of 15, which came against San Francisco last year.  Through 11 games, Brown has scored 8 or more points on nine occasions; last season, he scored at least 8 points just ten times in 36 games.  His career effort versus the Spartans featured a 7-of-11 shooting performance along with four assists.  For the season, he is averaging 10.0 points per game and tied for 7th in the Valley, shooting 54.3%.

Fresno State has gotten off to a strong 8-3 start this season following a home win over Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday.  The Bulldogs losses, all on the road, have come to Oregon, Cal Poly and Arizona.  As a team, FSU is outrebounding the opposition by an average of 6.2 per game.  Marvelle Harris leads the way, averaging 18.5 points per game while leading the squad with 22 steals and 52 assists.  Torren Jones has recorded 11.3 points while Cezar Guerrero stands at an even 10 PPG.  Harris was the leader in the win over Cal State Bakersfield, scoring 20 points while posting 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

Last year, the Aces and Bulldogs met up in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida as UE took a 58-52 win.  Mislav Brzoja scored 17 points while D.J. Balentine had 13.

This Season: 4^th and 5^th of 11 meetings

• 10/17 – Indy won 3-1 (in Evansville)
• 11/4 – Indy won 3-0 (in Evansville)
• 11/6 – Evansville won 4-2 (in Evansville)

All-Time:  Evansville: 3-7-1-2; Indy: 10-2-1-0

THIS WEEK

Wed. 12/16 – Atlanta 6, Evansville 5, OT

Fri. 12/18 – Indy at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

Cheyenne’s Hope Farm Sanctuary Fundraiser

Sat. 12/19 – Indy at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

Teddy Bear Toss

 

UPCOMING

Sat. 12/26 – Cincinnati at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

Home for the Holidays Game

Th. 12/31 – Quad City at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

New Years Eve Bash – Postgame Fireworks

HIGH FLYING OFFENSE

The IceMen have been scoring goals at an incredible rate over the past two weeks. Evansville has scored 25 goals in its last five games, including five or more goals in four straight home games. Each time the IceMen score five or more goals at home, all fans in attendance have five days to present their ticket stub at Lucas Oil Center for a free car wash. Since December 4, Evansville has scored 35 goals in seven games. The IceMen dropped a heartbreaker 6-5 in overtime Wednesday at the Ford Center to the Atlanta Gladiators.

WHO’S #1?

With two more goals Wednesday on the man-advantage against Atlanta, the IceMen now have the ECHL’s top-ranked power play. Evansville is converting over 22 percent of its power plays, and has scored on ten of its last 20 opportunities.

IN PLAYOFF CONTENTION

The IceMen are one third of the way through the regular season and have pushed their way into the playoff race. Evansville is four points out of the eighth place team in the Western Conference, Idaho. After Wednesday’s game, the IceMen are just three points behind Fort Wayne and two points back of Indy and Tulsa.

MORE FUEL

For the fourth and fifth time this season, Evansville hosts its Hoosier State rival, the Indy Fuel Friday and Saturday night. Indy won the first two meetings at the Ford Center 3-1 October 17 and 3-0 November 4, but the IceMen defeated the Fuel 4-2 November 6. After Saturday’s game, the two teams play six more times in Indianapolis the rest of the season. The Fuel have lost ten of their last 11 games, including a 5-1 defeat Wednesday at Toledo. Indy’s last win was a 3-2 overtime victory Friday in Fort Wayne.

CHEYENNE’S HOPE FARM SANCTUARY FUNDRAISER

Head Coach Al Sims, his wife Sue, and the Evansville IceMen are proud to support Cheyenne’s Hope Farm Sanctuary and the Hebejebe Bluegrass Standardbred Retirement Organization. Representatives from the two organizations that specialize in animal rescue will be collecting donations and selling Chuck-a-Pucks at Friday’s game. Coach Sims and Cheyenne’s Hope Farm’s ambassador dog, Bishop, will be going on the ice before the game for the ceremonial puck drop.

TEDDY BEAR TOSS

Then Saturday is Evansville’s annual Teddy Bear Toss game, where fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used teddy bears in plastic bags to the game. When the IceMen score their first goal, fans will throw the teddy bears onto the ice and the IceMen will donate those to 911 Gives Hope and other local children’s charities.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Back by popular demand, the IceMen are offering a ticket special for the Holiday Season. Starting as low as $18 for goal zone seats, fans can purchase tickets to the December 18, 26 and January 2 games and receive a $5 food voucher. This offer is available by calling the IceMen front office at 812-421-GOAL (4625) all the way up until 3pm the day of the game, and is a great way to spend the Holidays with family and friends!

COAT-A-KID

The IceMen are proud to once again participate in Don’s Claytons Coat-A-Kid.  Bring any gently used or new kids coat to the IceMen offices in person and receive a FREE child ticket to the game on Friday, December 18^th.  You can also purchase additional tickets at a discounted rate. Call the IceMen at 812-421-GOAL (4625) with any questions.

FAMILY 4 PACK

Spend the Holidays with the IceMen for one low price. The Family 4 Pack includes four upper level tickets to the December 26 game against Cincinnati or December 31 game against Quad City at the Ford Center all for just $40! To take advantage of this limited time offer or for more information, contact the IceMen front office at 812-421-GOAL (4625).

Visit us at www.evansvilleicemen.com, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter @EvvIceMen for more information about your hometown professional hockey team.

Senior D.J. Balentine became just the fourth player in University of Evansville men’s basketball history to score 2,000 points as the Purple Aces defeated Norfolk State by a final of 84-70 on Thursday night at the Ford Center.

“It’s a heck of an accomplishment for D.J., it is something to be proud of.  He deserves all of the credit for the work he has put in,” head coach Marty Simmons said.  “D.J. has had a knack of being able to put the ball in the basket in a variety of ways.”

A pair of free throws with 9:22 remaining gave the Kokomo, Ind. product 20 points in the game and 2K for his career.  He is just the 16th player in MVC history and 32nd among all Division I schools in Indiana to hit the mark.

“We came out and had a strong start in the second half.  Coach says that the first four minutes of the half are the most important and we were able to do that tonight,” Balentine said.  “It was exciting to hit the milestone tonight, I knew I was close when I got fouled and was able to hit both free throws.”

Balentine led the way with 26 points as the Aces (9-2) shot 60% on the night.  Jaylon Brown had a career-high 17 points, hitting 7 out of 11 shots.  He also had four assists.  Egidijus Mockevicius recorded his 9th double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Mislav Brzoja finished the evening with ten.

Both offenses were cranking in the first half as the Spartans shot 53.6% and Evansville finished at 60%.  With UE holding an early 6-4 lead, Jonathan Wade gave NSU its first edge of the day at 7-6.  Evansville took the lead right back as triples by Balentine and Harris Brown gave the Aces their largest lead at 14-9.

Norfolk State punched right back, hitting four out of five shots to take a 20-18 lead.  They would later lead by six at 37-31 on a Jeff Short layup in the final two minutes.  A Mockevicius dunk, coupled with a Jaylon Brown triple at the buzzer, cut the gap to one at the break, 37-36.

On the first play of the second half, Adam Wing hit a layup to give UE its first lead since the 8:53 mark of the opening period.  That was the start of a 7-0 run as Balentine hit another triple to open up a 43-37 lead.

The run continued as the lead would reach double figures for the first time at 55-45 on an and-one by Willie Wiley.  After the Spartans got within five, D.J. Balentine scored the 2,000th point of his career on a free throw.  Those points spurred a run that saw the Aces go up 70-56.  From there, UE would lead by as many as 17 points before picking up the 84-70 victory.

Jeff Short was the leading scorer for Norfolk State (4-7) as he notched 22 points.  As a team, NSU shot 52% from the field while hitting six triples.

Evansville will play at Fresno State on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT/1 p.m. PT.  Fans can watch live on the Mountain West Network, which is a free stream through themwc.com or listen live on 91.5 FM WUEV.