Aces earn 74-50 win over Cardinals

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Playing in front of 5,172 fans inside the Ford Center, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team put on a show in an impressive 74-50 victory over Ball State on Saturday afternoon.  Evansville improved to 4-0 to open a season for the first time since 2017.

Highlighting the day was the performance of Kenny Strawbridge Jr.  In the second half, he reached the 1,000-point mark in his collegiate career on his way to a team-high 13 points.  Ben Humrichous and Joshua Hughes scored 12 apiece.

“Our guys were locked in from the start.  It is a mindset and a commitment to the process.  To be able to respond the way we did in front of a large crowd and play the right way was something that I really commend our guys for,” UE head men’s basketball coach David Ragland exclaimed following the win.  “We are committed to reviving this program.  Winnings games is part of that process and this is one step in that journey.”

Antonio Thomas completed the day with nine points while Yacine Toumi recorded eight points and a game-high eight boards.

Ball State opened the game with a triple and, following a 0-for-3 start to the afternoon, the Purple Aces got on the board with a Cam Haffner triple.  Kenny Strawbridge Jr. forced a turnover and scored to give UE its first lead at 5-3.  Trailing 9-7, Joshua Hughes scored the first of his eight first-half points to tie it up and open a 6-0 run that gave UE a 13-9 edge at the 12:07 mark.

Evansville held that lead for the remainder of the game.  Strawbridge’s third basket of the period put the Aces up 19-14 inside of the 9-minute mark before two field goals by the Cardinals cut the edge to one a minute later.  Over the next four minutes, the defense by the Aces took over, holding Ball State scoreless.  Ben Humrichous and Hughes picked up baskets that pushed the lead to a game-high of six points at 24-18.

In the final stretch of the half, BSU made it a one-possession game and that would be the deficit at the break with Evansville holding a 30-27 edge.  Hughes led the Aces with eight points while Basheer Jihad posted 14 to pace the Cardinals.

Out of the break, the Aces took full control. The defense held the Cardinals without a point over the first seven minutes of the half while the offense reeled off 17 points in a row.  Evansville held Ball State to a 0-for-5 start in the latter half while forcing seven turnovers.  Humrichous picked up a 3-pointer before Strawbridge connected on a free throw to establish the first double digit lead of the day at 37-27.

Thomas stepped up in the latter part of the run, scoring two field goals off turnovers with the lead growing to 20 points (47-27) with 13 minutes remaining.  With 8:43 left in the game, a triple by Thomas made it a 59-33 game.  One of the most impressive parts of that sequence was that the Aces never let up; BSU got as close as 19 points before UE quickly countered.

With 2:19 remaining, the Aces extended the lead to its largest at 29 points (74-45) with BSU scoring the final five points to make it a 74-50 final.  For the game, the Aces outshot the Cardinals by a 45.8%-31.4% margin while taking the battle of the boards by a 39-31 margin.  Basheer Jihad paced Ball State with 21 points.

Next weekend, UE will be on the road in Chattanooga facing the Mocs on Friday before squaring off against SEMO once again on Saturday.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (14-15, 10-8 OVC) received the five seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship and will face off against four-seeded Morehead State University (18-12, 11-7 OVC) in the quarterfinal round at Lantz Arena on the campus of Eastern Illinois University on Monday at 10 a.m. The winner between the Eagles and Screaming Eagles will move on to the semifinal round against the winner of No. 1 Eastern Illinois and No. 8 University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Game Coverage
Information about USI Volleyball, including live stats, video, and audio broadcasts, is available on USIScreamingEagles.com. 
 
Tickets
Admission to the OVC Championship matches at Lantz Arena is free to all attendees.
 
OVC Tournament Central
For an updated bracket, match times, and ESPN+ broadcast information, go to the OVC Tournament Central.
 
Screaming Eagles Headlines:
Eagles Secure Postseason Bid. After the Screaming Eagles win over UT Martin on Wednesday, USI was guaranteed a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship. This is the first conference tournament berth in the NCAA Division I era for USI. The Eagles enter the playoffs with a season-high four-match winning streak after sweeping Lindenwood and UT Martin in back-to-back weeks.
 
You Have To #OVCit. USI faces the four seed, Morehead State, in the first round of the tournament. These Eagles have battled twice this season with Morehead State holding a 2-0 record after posting a pair of wins (3-0 & 3-2) earlier in the year. The Eagles also hold the 4-0 all-time record over the Screaming Eagles with three of the four matches coming in sweeping fashion. In neutral territory, it’s anyone’s game.
 
Postseason History. Since the inaugural 1979 season, USI has had three conference championships with the latest being in 2021 when the Eagles topped Missouri S&T in the GLVC Championship. In the last 10 seasons, USI has been in five conference championships and one NCAA tournament. For Morehead State, the Eagles have a 44-36 all-time record in the OVC Championship with eight straight appearances. Morehead State has made the championship match three times since 2019, winning the OVC crown in 2020 after defeating Jacksonville State, 3-0, in their lone match.
 
Season Recap. After a disappointing year in 2022, USI put together a solid performance in 2023 with a 14-15 record and 10-8 in conference play. The Eagles hired Jeffrey Aucoin and returned all but one starter from last year’s roster. USI had big wins over Radford and New Orleans while earning solid victories over top-tier Lindenwood. The Eagles had close encounters with Bradley, Eastern Illinois, Morehead State, and Tennessee Tech who pose big threats this postseason.
 
OVC Leaderboard. In conference matches, USI stands third in hitting percentage (.213) and fourth in aces/set (1.47) and points/set (16.39). In all matches within the OVC, USI is top five in digs/set (16.41), aces/set (1.57), blocks/set (2.09), opponent aces/set (1.37), hitting percentage (.196), and opponent hitting percentage (.198).
 
OVC Leaders. Junior Paris Downing boasts the most blocks/set (1.11) and total blocks (122) in the conference. Senior Leah Anderson holds the most kills (428) and points (506.5) in the OVC and has her name in three categories including second in points/set (4.48) and kills/set (3.79) while standing fifth in aces/set (0.41). Senior Abby Bednar sits sixth in aces/set (0.38), seventh in points/set (3.91), and eighth in kills/ set (3.17). Junior Carly Sobieralski ranks fourth in assists/set (9.73) while sophomore Keira Moore rounds out the leaders with the eighth-most digs/set margin (4.14).
 
About Morehead State. The Eagles enter the tournament as the four seed with an 18-12 overall record and 11-7 in OVC play. Morehead State has dominated at home with a 12-3 record but has struggled on the road with a combined 6-9 record in neutral/road sites. The Eagles have been on a roll as of late, winning seven of the last eight matches against Tennessee State, SIUE, UT Martin, and Lindenwood. Morehead leads the OVC in opponent hitting percentage (.169) and is second in opponent assists/set (10.62), assists/set (12.56), opponent kills/set (11.50), kills/set (13.38), and digs/set (17.40).
 
Leading the Eagles. M.E. Hargan has excelled for Morehead State, posting the second-most kills/set (4.01) and third-best points/set (4.57) margins in the OVC. Irene Wogenstahl has punched down 1.22 blocks/set which is second-most along with the seventh-highest hitting percentage (3.17) in the conference. Brenna Bommer holds the eighth-most assists/set (6.66) while Peighton Isley posts the fifth-most digs/set (4.81).

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball lost a heartbreaker to La Salle University, 79-78, to open the Duke Blue Devil Challenge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Screaming Eagles are 1-4 after today’s action, while the Explorers are 4-0 to begin the season.

The Eagles came out hot in the opening and went toe-to-toe with the Explorers, winning their first opening half of the season. After falling behind 24-18, USI went on a 12-5 run to take a 30-29 lead when sophomore guard Jack Campion (Milton, Wisconsin) hit a three-pointer from the top of the key.
 
USI would go on to score six of the last eight points of the half and post a 36-31 lead at the intermission. Campion led the Eagles through the first 20 minutes with a season-best 10 points by halftime, while sophomore guard/forward AJ Smith (Edwardsville, Illinois) nine at the break.
 
In the second half, USI pushed the lead to as many as seven, 51-44, with 14:45 on the clock when junior forward Jack Mielke (Downers Grove, Illinois) hit a three. La Salle, however, would rally to regain the advantage, 54-53, with a 10-2 run with 12:49 to play.
 
The Eagles and the Explorers would trade buckets and leads until La Salle took the lead for good at 3:08, 73-72. USI had posted its last lead of the game at 3:34 when junior guard Jordan Tillmon (Pine Bluff, Arkansas) hit a long-range bucket for the 72-71 advantage.
 
La Salle increased the margin to 77-72 with USI hot on their heels and the Eagles closing the gap to 77-75 on a three by USI junior guard Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) with seven seconds left.
 
After La Salle got two more free throws to seal the Eagles’ fate, Mielke hit a three with one second remaining to complete the 79-78 final.
 
Overall, USI shot a season-high 53.3 percent (32-60) from the field and 43.5 percent from beyond the arc (10-23), in addition to winning the battle of the boards, 32-29. The Eagles also had a season-high four players score in double-digits, led by Smith with15 points.
 
Smith was seven-of-12 from the field, including a three-pointer, while tying for the team-lead in rebounds with eight.
 
Hernandez followed with 14 points, while senior forward Nolan Causwell (Duluth, Georgia) and Campion rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points and 11 points, respectively. Causwell, who posted a season-high with his 13 points, tied Smith for the team-lead with a season-high eight rebounds.
 
Next Up For USI:
USI reaches the midway point of its three-game, nine-day road swing Monday when it visits Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The Bison fell to 1-4 Friday night to ninth-ranked Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, 90-30.
 
Fans can follow USI Basketball action on the road by visiting USIScreamingEagles.com. The USI-Bucknell game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and air live on ESPN 97.7FM.
 
The Bison are 0-2 in their part of the Challenge, starting their run with a loss to LaSalle, 69-57, last Tuesday.
 
Duke, which is 3-1 after Friday night’s win, will host La Salle on November 21 before welcoming the Eagles to Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 24. The USI-Duke contest will air live on the ACC Network and will be streamed on ESPN+.