Game time set for 1 p.m. at the Ford Cente 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Missouri Valley Conference action continues on Saturday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team plays host to UNI at the Ford Center.  Tip is set for 1 p.m. with ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network having the coverage.

Last Time Out

– On Wednesday, UE opened its MVC slate on the road at Missouri State with the Bears taking a 90-78 victory

– Chuck Bailey III recorded a career-high 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting

– Ben Humrichous completed the night with 14 points while Kenny Strawbridge Jr. scored 10

– Tanner Cuff put together a solid all-around performance with 8 assists, 7 points and 7 boards

Making a Statement

– With the Aces facing a deficit in the second half on Wednesday at Missouri State, freshman Chuck Bailey III put the team on his back, scoring a career-high 27 points

– His effort was the top output by a freshman this season in the MVC and was just the second 20-point game by a freshman in the league this year

– Bailey connected on 10 of his 17 attempts while going a perfect 5-for-5 from the line

– On Nov. 14, he was recognized as the MVC Freshman of the Week after averaging 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in UE’s first two games 

Newcomer of the Week

– Averaging 27.5 points per game while leading the Aces to a pair of wins at the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Classic, Ben Humrichous was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 27

– He opened the week with a season-high 28 points versus the Mocs before tallying 27 against the Redhawks

– Humrichous has scored at least 11 points in each game and ranks 5th in the MVC with 18.3 PPG

– Humrichous’ MVC stat rankings include: blocks (T-5 | 1.71/gm), FG% (6th | 58.5%) and 3-point% (6th | 47.4%)

Second in the Nation

– Over the last five games, Tanner Cuff has accumulated an astonishing 21.00 assist-to-turnover ratio

– He has 21 helpers against just one turnover during that span; for the season, Cuff has a ratio of 8.67, which is second in the nation and best in the MVC

– Cuff had an excellent all-around performance at Missouri State, recording 8 assists, 7 points and 7 boards

– He had UE’s first double-double of the season at Chattanooga, totaling 10 points and 11 caroms

Scouting the Opponent

– UNI enters Saturday’s match-up with a 2-5 record after dropping their MVC opener on Wednesday night

– The Panthers fell to Belmont by a 90-70 score to open the league slate

– In the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis, UNI led #14 North Carolina at halftime before dropping a close 72-70 contest to Texas Tech

– In the finale, the Panthers rolled to a 73-51 victory over Stanford

– Nate Heise leads the Panthers with an average of 13.9 points per game while ranking second with 6.3 assists

– Just behind him it Tytan Anderson with 10.4 points and a team-best 6.3 boards per contest

Evansville, In.:  Despite the result, it was good to see some new Thunderbolts find the back of the net, as both Myles Abbate and Michael Greco picked up their first goals with Evansville in a very close 3-2 loss to Roanoke on Friday night at Ford Center.  The Thunderbolts next home game will be on Saturday, December 2^nd against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.

Roanoke struck first, as CJ Stubbs scored on a power play only 4:15 into the game, however the Thunderbolts were quick to respond as Abbate scored only 11 seconds later from Bair Gendunov and Nick Prestia to tie the game at one-apiece, with the goal being Abbate’s first professional goal.  In the second period, Evansville took a 2-1 lead as a shot from the point by Greco off the face-off got through, assisted by Genunov at 9:00.  However, the Rail Yard Dawgs eventually converted on their 19 shots in the second period, as Nick Ford scored at 13:48 to tie the game going into the third period.  Penalties proved costly on Evansville in the final period, as Mac Jansen scored at 10:39 on a power play to give Roanoke the lead, which would stick the rest of the way as the Rail Yard Dawgs opened the weekend series with a 3-2 win.

Abbate and Greco scored a goal each while Gendunov finished with a pair of assists.  In goal, Cole Ceci finished with 31 saves on 34 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Rail Yard Dawgs meet once again on Saturday, December 2^nd 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.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The 2024 Vincennes University baseball season is almost here as the Trailblazers announce their 2024 Spring schedule.

VU is coming off a 25-33 season last year, which saw the Blazers qualify for the Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) tournament for the fourth consecutive year.

The Trailblazers will open the season with a pair of road trips, taking on Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tenn., Sunday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. for a single nine-inning game, before heading back to Tennessee the following weekend for a three-game series at Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, Tenn. Saturday, Feb. 10 and Sunday, Feb. 11.

Vincennes will host Opening Day at Jerry Blemker Field on Friday, Feb. 16 when VU hosts Frontier Community College at 3 p.m. eastern.

This will be part of three big weekends of games at Jerry Blemker Field in the early season, with VU hosting Frontier Community College, South Suburban Community College and Ancilla College from Friday, Feb. 16 to Sunday, Feb. 18.

VU will then host Olney Central College, Joliet Junior College and Morton College from Friday, Feb. 23 to Sunday, Feb. 25 before hosting the final weekend slate Friday, March 1 through Sunday, March 3 when VU hosts Kellogg Community College, Glen Oaks Community College and Lincoln Trail College into Jerry Blemker Field.

The Trailblazers will begin MWAC Conference play on Friday, March 8 at Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey, Ill., with the first MWAC Conference home series for the Blazers being Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17 against Illinois Central College.

VU will host a full four-game conference series against Illinois Central College, Lincoln land Community College, and John Wood Community College and will host two-game conference doubleheaders against Danville Area Community College and Parkland College this season.

Vincennes will hit the road to face Lewis & Clark Community College, Spoon River Community College and defending NJCAA Division II National Champion Heartland Community College in a four-game road conference series this season.

The Trailblazers will look to close out the season with a lengthy postseason run beginning with the NJCAA Region 24 / MWAC Conference Baseball Tournament May 9 through 12, followed by the NJCAA District Tournament May 16 through 19 and hopefully concluding at the NJCAA Division II World Series in Enid, Okla. May 25 through June 2.

Full 2024 Vincennes University Spring baseball schedule can be found online at govutrailblazers.com and to stay up to date on any changes and where to find live-stream information be sure to follow Vincennes University Athletics on Facebook, X and Instagram.