Moline, Ill.:  In a wild back-and-forth game that saw the lead change hands four separate times, the Storm held the final lead as the Thunderbolts were unable to come back in the third period in front of a packed house on Thursday morning in Quad City, falling by a 4-3 final score.   The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Friday, February 2^nd against the Knoxville Ice Bears, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.

After an early Quad City penalty shot was stopped by Ty Taylor in the opening minutes, the Thunderbolts grabbed the first lead of the day, as Brady Lynn scored from Vadim Vasjonkin and Nick Prestia at the 4:38 mark.  The Storm responded with a pair of goals to take a 2-1 lead, with Nicola Levesque scoring at 7:33 and Logan Nelson at 11:16.  On a late power play, Grayson Valente tied the game back up for Evansville at 17:32, assisted by Vasjonkin and Lynn, as the Thunderbolts and Storm went into the first intermission tied at 2-2.  Benjamin Lindberg gave Evansville a 3-2 lead by scoring 5:10 into the second period unassisted, however the Storm responded with a pair of goals once again, as Tommy Tsicos tied the game at 16:07 and Michael Moran put Quad City ahead 4-3 at 19:29.  The third period saw no goals or penalties, and the Thunderbolts were unable to find the tying goal despite one last effort with Taylor pulled.

Lynn finished with one goal and one assist, Valente and Lindberg scored one goal each, and Vasjonkin tallied a pair of assists.  In goal, Taylor finished with 29 saves on 33 shots faced.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet again on Wednesday, February 14^th at Ford Center.

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for this 2023-24 season.  Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are also on sale.  Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.

Toumi and Cuff post career highs in win over UIC

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Yacine Toumi and Tanner Cuff recorded career scoring highs while Ben Humrichous made his return for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team in a 77-60 victory over UIC on Wednesday night at the Ford Center.

Toumi led the Purple Aces with 22 points and 7 rebounds in the victory.  He connected on 8 of his 10 field goal tries.  Cuff posted 16 points, two better than his top scoring output of the season.  After missing the last three games, Humrichous was back on the floor and tallied 15 points and four assists.  Isaiah Rivera led four double digit scorers for the Flames with 15 points.

“I’m proud of our guys for the job they did tonight.  UIC is a very good team and we knew it would be a tough game.  We did a good job of limiting their production in the paint and holding them below their average from outside,” UE head coach David Ragland exclaimed.  “We had production across the entire lineup tonight and did a great job of regrouping when they made a run.”

Three-pointers were falling in the early moments as UIC took a 6-0 lead and connected on their first three outside attempts to take an 11-6 advantage.  Gage Bobe got the Purple Aces rolling with a triple, but hot shooting by the Flames saw a 5-of-6 start culminate in a 13-6 advantage just four minutes into the game.

UIC took its largest lead of the period at the 12:53 mark when another 3-pointer pushed the lead to 20-11.  That is the point where Evansville took control on both ends.  After the Flames connected on four of their first five 3-point tries, the Aces held them to just 1-of-11 over the final 12 minutes of the half.  Offensively, UE outscored UIC by a 26-10 margin over the remainder of the half to hold a 7-point lead at the break.

With 9:06 remaining in the half, a basket by Humrichous capped an 11-3 run that got UE within one.  Tanner Cuff got the job done during that rally, scoring seven points in a row.  After the Flames connected on a field goal to retake a 25-22 advantage, Evansville countered with a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the game.  Humrichous got it started with a 3-point play before Cuff posted consecutive baskets to break a 25-25 tie.

Toumi’s third field goal of the night broke a 29-29 tie inside the final three minutes and opened an 8-1 run to end the half.  Antonio Thomas recorded the final four points, including a drive down the lane at the buzzer to solidify a 37-30 lead at the break.

Evansville’s lead remained at seven points (45-38) with 14:44 remaining, but a 4-minute 8-0 stretch by UIC saw them retake a 46-45 lead.  Their defense held UE to 0-for-4 from the field while forcing a turnover.  Cuff put an end to the drought with his sixth make of the night.  His shot opened a 14-2 run that gave Evansville its largest lead of the game at 59-48 as the contest entered its final seven minutes.

Ben Humrichous finished the run in exciting fashion, drilling back-to-back triples to push the lead into double figures for the first time.  Kenny Strawbridge Jr. knocked down a pair of free throws with 2:40 left on the clock to push the lead to 16 before UE took a 19-point lead in the final minute on its way to a 77-60 triumph.

UE’s offense was clicking, hitting 51.1% of its attempts while limiting the Flames to 35.9%.  The Aces finished with a 37-33 edge on the boards.  On Saturday, Evansville returns to the road, facing Valparaiso in a 3 p.m. contest.

CENTRALIA, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers moved up in this week’s NJCAA Division I National rankings to No. 6 this week.

The Blazers hit the road for their only game of the week Wednesday night, heading to Centralia to take on Kaskaskia College.

The Blazers looked to get the ball into the block all night and were able to pull away in the second half for a 72-52 victory over the Blue Devils.

The game began as a back-and-forth affair, with VU grabbing an early 11-7 lead before the Blue Devils answered back to take a 17-15 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

Vincennes then answered back with a 9-2 scoring run to take a 24-19 lead before the Blue Devils came back to cut the deficit down to one at 26-25.

The Blazers were able to close out the first half strong however, building their largest lead of the half at 33-26 and taking a 37-32 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.

VU looked to create some space on the scoreboard early in the second half and opened the final 20-minute period on a 14-4 scoring run to lead 51-36.

After Kaskaskia cut the VU lead back down to nine, the Blazers would later answer with eight unanswered to take a 66-48 lead.

The Blazers then looked to take some air out of the ball and keep the clock moving and were able to keep the defensive pressure to not allow the Blue Devils a late comeback.

VU scored the final two buckets of the game to finish out the 72-52 victory over Kaskaskia College, VU’s 20th win of the season.

Vincennes allowed just 20 points in the second half Wednesday night and only allowed five second half field goals against the Blue Devils.

“It was a combination of both ends of the floor in that second half,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “We were more methodical with the ball in the second half and didn’t get the turnovers. We moved the ball and swung it. Then they start to break down inside and they get in foul trouble. They get tired of trying to fight that thing. Then we did a better job of moving it and getting sealed inside.”

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