EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men’s and women’s cross country teams return to the course at Angel Mounds on Friday for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. The day begins at 10 AM with the women’s 6k, followed by the men’s 10k at 11 AM. Live results can be found here.

Evansville welcomes 35 schools from four states (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin) and nine different conferences competing Friday:

Conference Break Down (9 conferences represented)

Atlantic Coast (1)
Atlantic-10 (1)
Big East (3)
Big 10 (6)
Big 12 (1)
Horizon (9)
Mid-American (10)
Missouri Valley (3)
Ohio Valley (1)

Last Time Out
Evansville junior Samuel Lea (Worcester, United Kingdom/Worcester Sixth Form College) became the first Purple Aces men’s runner since 2006 to earn All-Conference honors, finishing eighth in the 8k at the MVC Championships on October 31. James Cruse (Melbourne, Australia) also made history, finishing 21st for the top finish of all freshmen to earn Evansville’s first-ever MVC Freshman of the Year award.

The sixth place finish by the men’s team is the best finish by an Evansville men’s squad since 2011, when the Aces finished sixth of nine teams. The Purple Aces women’s team placed 10th, led by freshman Kyleigh Wolf (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North), who posted the 11th-best 6k time in program history at 22:23.2.

Lea landed 12th on the program’s all-time 8k list with his time of 24:41.65 to pace the Aces. Rafael Rodriguez (Segovia, Spain/Colegio Claret) turned in a strong performance, finishing 17th overall and second on the team with a time of 25:06.32, followed by Cruse in 21st overall at 25:14.34. Woody Burrell (Cedarburg, Wis./Cedarburg) also came in with a time under 26 minutes, placing 51st with a time of 25:55.37.

On the women’s side, Wolf led the way, placing 41st and notching a personal best time. Avery Stephens (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) finished second for the Purple Aces, placing 50th and coming up one second short of a personal best. Josie Lynch (Brazil, Ind./Northview) and Veronica Wilgocki (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) posted personal-bests with times of 23:51.56 and 25:09.51, respectively.

ST. LOUIS – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball showcased a strong defensive performance on Wednesday night, outlasting Saint Louis University 68-52 toward the Screaming Eagles’ first road victory of the season.
 
The Screaming Eagles (2-1) built off their strong defense to pull away late in the second half against the Billikens (1-3). Following a five-point halftime margin, USI outscored Saint Louis by 11 in the second half.
 
While USI shot the ball at a 40 percent rate (27-68), the Eagles held Saint Louis to only 30 percent from the floor (17-56). USI also limited the Billikens to 24 percent (6-25) from distance. The Eagles knocked 7-19 for 37 percent from three.
 
USI had five players score in double figures on Wednesday. Senior guard Ali Saunders led all scorers with a game-high 15 points and dished out five assists. Junior guard Sophia Loden added 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Junior guard Shannon Blacher tallied 11 points, and sophomore guard Lexi Sepulveda netted 11 points off the bench, one off her career high. Junior forward Chloe Gannon registered 10 points.
 
In a defensive first half of basketball, Gannon got the Screaming Eagles going to open the contest with a pair of baskets. The two teams exchanged blows in the middle of the first quarter. USI built a 12-7 lead with under four minutes left in the opening period following consecutive makes by Loden and Sepulveda off two Saint Louis turnovers. The Eagles’ lead grew to seven, but the Billikens closed the gap in the final minute. USI led 16-13 through the first 10 minutes of action.
 
The game went scoreless for the first two and a half minutes of the second quarter, which was followed by another scoring drought. The first field goal of the second frame came with 4:30 left in the first half. The Billikens hit a triple and another basket to take an 18-17 lead. The Screaming Eagles answered with an 8-0 run off a couple of made three-pointers by Sepulveda and junior forward Amiyah Buchanan, as well as a jumper from Saunders. USI ended up going into the halftime locker room with a 26-21 advantage.
 
The Eagles came out of the break on fire, scoring 26 third-quarter points. Blacher scored a couple of field goals, including a three-pointer, early in the quarter, while Saunders drained a pair of threes in the middle of the third to help USI’s lead grow to 41-32 halfway through the quarter. Blacher scored again on a layup with four minutes left in the third to extend the Screaming Eagles’ advantage into double digits, 45-34. Saint Louis made a small run, but USI carried a 52-43 lead to the fourth quarter.
 
After a higher-scoring third quarter, USI’s defense dug in for the final frame and limited Saint Louis to single-digit scoring in a quarter for the second time in the game. The Eagles took advantage of six Billiken turnovers in the fourth quarter. Buchanan and Sepulveda each converted off Saint Louis turnovers near the midway point of the fourth to push USI’s lead to 13, 58-45. A pair of made jumpers from Saunders in the last two and a half minutes to give USI a 14-point cushion helped cement the victory before an exclamation point three-pointer by Blacher in the waning seconds of the contest.
 
USI will be back home for the next two games over the next couple of weeks. The Screaming Eagles’ next game will be against Indiana University East on Monday, November 17, at 6 p.m. inside Liberty Arena.
 

VERMILLION, S.D. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball fell on the road, losing to the University of South Dakota, 89-74, Wednesday evening in Vermillion, South Dakota. The Screaming Eagles are 0-3 to start the year, while USD begins 2025-26, 2-2.
 
USI senior guard Ismail Habib hit the opening bucket of the game and propelled the Eagles to an early six-point lead, 10-4. The Coyotes rallied to take the lead, 12-10, and started a run of four lead changes over the next seven minutes.
 
South Dakota took the lead for good in the first half when it generated a 14-2 run to lead, 29-18, with 5:47 before halftime.
 
The Eagles responded and pulled to within four points, 35-31, when junior guard Kaden Brown sank a three-pointer from downtown. Brown scored six of his team-best first-half nine points during the run.
 
The Coyotes re-extended the lead to 12 points by the end of the half, 44-32, by outscoring USI, 7-1, in the final two minutes before the intermission.
 
USI started slow in the second half and found itself down 17, 53-36, after five minutes had passed. The Eagles’ offense was only able to connect on two of seven from the field during the start of the final 20 minutes.
 
After falling behind by 19 points, 58-39, the Eagles’ offense made a small 7-0 dash to pull to within 12, 58-46, with 12:01 left. Brown, Habib, and senior guard Sheridan Sharp combined to contribute the points during the run.
 
The Eagles were never able to close the gap further and cross the double-digit barrier in the final 10 minutes of the game as the Coyotes closed out the 89-74 final.  
 
In the scoring column, Habib led three Eagles in double-digits with 19 points. The senior guard was five-of-14 from the field, including two three-pointers, and seven-of-nine from the stripe.
 
Brown followed close behind with nine more points in the second half for 18. The junior guard posted four-of-11 from the field, including the three first-half three-point field goals, and seven-of-nine from the line.
 
Senior guard Cardell Bailey rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. He also had a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Next Up For USI:
USI returns home to host Loras University Sunday at 3 p.m. in Liberty Arena. The Eagles lead the all-time series, 2-0, after winning the last meeting in 2022-23, 87-55, at home.
 

RICHMOND, Ky. – Sophomore Avery Kelley (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) scored a team-high 15 points for her second double figure scoring effort of the season on Wednesday night, but the Evansville women’s basketball team fell to host Eastern Kentucky by a score of 83-60 inside Baptist Health Arena.

Logan Luebbers Palmer (Union, Ky./Randall K. Cooper) added 10 points for the Aces, while Elle Snyder (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) led the team with six rebounds.

EKU began the game red-hot from the field, shooting 70% in the first quarter of play to open up an early lead. Lubbers Palmer scored the Aces’ first two baskets of the night before Kelley knocked down a three-point jumper, making it a 15-7 game at the 6:16 mark. However, the Colonels continued to stay hot, extending the lead to 19 at the end of the quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, Evansville put together a run, with Sydney Huber (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Mount Vernon) and Kelley helping the Aces to a seven-point scoring swing. However, EKU went on run of their own to end the half, taking a 57-31 lead at the break.

Transfer Mireia Mustaros (Barcelona, Spain/Odessa College) led the Aces in the third quarter, scoring six points, but the Colonels took a 73-46 lead into the fourth quarter.

After another basket from Mustaros to start the final quarter of play, Luebbers Palmer knocked down a three-pointer to get into double figures for the second game in a row. The fourth quarter also saw the first collegiate points from Daniela Llavero (Malaga, Spain/IES Mediterráneo), while fellow freshman BreAunna Ward (St. Louis, John Burroughs School) added a basket in a night in which she scored her first collegiate points, finishing the game with six points.

The Aces return to action on Sunday, closing out a season-opening road swing at Wright State. Tip-off is set for 1 PM from Dayton.

Evansville will host the MVC Championship on Saturday at 6 PM

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Entering the MVC Tournament with the number one seed for the first time in program history, the University of Evansville men’s soccer team flexed their muscles on Wednesday night, besting fifth-seeded UIC 4-1 at Arad McCutchan Stadium.

MVC Freshman of the Year Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain/IES Joan Miro) notched his fourth brace of the season, scoring the Aces’ first and fourth goals. Devin Shepherd (Denver, Colo./Arapahoe) and Nate Roberts (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) added goals to mark Evansville’s highest scoring output of the season.

Evansville jumped on the Flames immediately, with Pablo Calvete (Ponferrada, Spain/UNIR) taking the ball away from a UIC player and using some nifty dribbling to send a through ball to Escudero. From there, Evansville’s star freshman used his speed to get behind the defense and sneak a right-footed shot past the UIC keeper and inside the far post to net his 10th goal of the season.

The Purple Aces kept the pressure on, as Escudero nearly found another goal less than two minutes later, beginning a barrage of six shots in the next 20 minutes of play. The Aces broke through in the 25th minute on a wild sequence, with Escudero and Tancredi Fadda (Monza, Italy/University of Milan) tallying shots before Shepherd came up with possession. From just inside the right side of the box, Sheperd struck, hitting the crossbar and finding the back of the net for his fifth goal of the year, making it 2-0.

The Evansville offense kept humming in the first half, finding another scoring chance in the 35th minute off an errant pass from the UIC keeper. Armon Haghighat (Irvine, Calif./Irvine Valley CC) corralled the ball before passing to Roberts, who gave the ball to Ben Zec (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) at the top of the box. Zec gave the ball right back to Roberts, who slid a shot past the keeper for his second goal in the last three matches and increasing the lead to three.

In the final minute of the half, UIC earned a penalty, and although the penalty shot was saved by Evansville keeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove), the Flames’ Edouard Nys collected his shot and tapped the ball in to make it 3-1 heading into half.

Evansville put a cherry on top of the night in the 66th minute of play, finding their fourth goal of the evening. Nacho Diaz-Caneja (Coruña, Spain/Oregon State) started the attack, putting a beautiful pass into the box for Shepherd. Although Shepherd’s shot was saved, Escudero collected the deflection right in front of the goal for a tap-in, securing the brace.

On the night, Evansville out-shot UIC 20-9, including a 12-4 advantage in shots on goal. Escudero and Shepherd each tallied five shots on the night, with Escudero putting four on target and Shepherd adding three. Mroz made three saves for the Aces.

“It was a great performance,” said Head Coach Robbe Tarver. “The message this week has been “prove it”. I don’t think many people believed in this team before the season started, except the guys in the locker room. All year we have proven that we can be very good, and I said tonight you have to go prove it again, and I think that’s what our guys did.”

“I think they really have an understanding of what it means to wear Evansville across their chest and what they represent, who they represent, and the people that have come before them that have set the standard.”

“There have been meaningful soccer games in Evansville in November on our campus, and we wanted to get back to that. For us to have that tonight, with probably our best performance of the year, that was really special. Now it’s prove it again on Saturday, with even more people in the stands, because we are going to need another big crowd to win an MVC title!”

With the win, Evansville moves to 7-4-8 overall and advances to the MVC Championship game for the fourth time in the last five years, taking on sixth-seeded Western Michigan. Kick-off for Saturday’s MVC Championship at Arad McCutchan Stadium is set for 6 PM.

Aces drop 77-72 decision

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Trailing by as many as 22 points in the second half, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team stormed back to get within two points before Middle Tennessee State finished with the 77-72 victory on Wednesday inside the Ford Center.

Facing a 61-39 deficit with 9:56 remaining, the Purple Aces outscored the Blue Raiders by a 33-13 margin to make it a 2-point game with 13 seconds remaining. MTSU fended off the challenge to take the win by five points.

“It is disappointing to lose at home but there are some positives to take from the game,” Evansville head coach David Ragland said. “To be down 22 and get back within a possession shows the character of our guys. I’m proud of how we responded; we need to be ready to get better.”

Connor Turnbull led five double digit scorers with a season-high 16 points. Bryce Quinet and Keishon Porter scored 14 each while Josh Hughes and AJ Casey registered 12 apiece. Hughes led all players with seven boards while Moeller added five assists. Quinet notched three steals in the contest. MTSU was led by Kamari Lands’ 23 points.

Over the opening three minutes of the game, Middle Tennessee State held multiple leads. After taking a 4-2 edge the Blue Raiders went up 9-7. Following a pair of free throws, Connor Turnbull knocked down a jumper to give UE an 11-9 lead at the 15:23 mark. The teams swapped the lead before Leif Moeller found Josh Hughes for a dunk that gave Evansville a 15-14 edge.

MTSU countered with an 8-0 stretch to go up 22-15 entering the final nine minutes of the period as they converted four consecutive field goal tries. Their lead reached nine at 28-19 with 7:22 on the clock.  UE clawed its way back as two AJ Casey free throws were followed by baskets from Turnbull, Hughes, and Keishon Porter to cut the gap two 28-26.

Over the final three minutes, Middle Tennessee State scored the final six points to take a 36-28 lead at the half. Turnbull led the Aces with 10 at the half while Kamari Lands led all players with 13. MTSU hit five triples while limiting UE to one over the first 20 minutes of play.

In the opening minutes of the second half, MTSU scored the first four points to open a 40-28 advantage. A dunk by Turnbull marked UE’s first points of the half at the 17:05 mark. One minute later, AJ Casey’s 3-point play made it a 40-33 game. Over the next three minutes, the lead for the Blue Raiders remained around 11 points before another rally saw their lead grow even more.

An 8-0 run pushed the lead to 55-37 entering the last 12 minutes before it reached 22 points (61-39) two minutes later. Consecutive baskets by Porter opened a 9-2 run that was capped by a Hughes triple to cut the deficit to 15 (63-48). Evansville was not done yet. Inside four minutes remaining, two more Casey free throws were followed by Porter’s sixth field goal of the night to make it a 9-point game.

Two offensive rebounds by the Blue Raiders on their next possession saw them run a minute off the clock, but the defense kept them off the board. On the other end, Porter converted two free throws to cut the MTSU advantage to 71-64 with 1:16 remaining. On the inbound pass, UE forced a steal and Casey hit a layup to make it a 5-point game.

On the other end, MTSU hit a free throw to go back up by six. Leif Moeller drained his first triple of the evening on the other end to make it a 1-possession game with 45 seconds left. Evansville utilized an 11-1 run to chop the deficit down to three while hitting 10 out of 12 shots. The defense held MTSU to five consecutive misses and a 1-for-8 stretch. The drought for the Blue Raiders ended with under 20 seconds left when a basket pushed the lead to two possessions at 74-69.

UE made another final push as Bryce Quinet’s 3-point play got his squad within two. Unfortunately, it was not enough as MTSU finished with the 5-point win. The Blue Raiders shot 49.2% while the Aces were just behind at 48.1%. They also finished with a 35-31 rebounding edge.

Evansville is back at the Ford Center on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game against UT Arlington.