Antonio Thomas leads the way with 27 points

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Feeding off the enthusiasm of over 5,000 fans at the Ford Center, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team outdueled the University of Northern Iowa, earning an 91-89 overtime victory.

Evansville had the upper hand throughout most of the first half, leading by 10 points before UNI took over in the second half, taking a 7-point edge.  Forty minutes was not enough to decide things as a late Panther basket forced overtime.  In the extra period, the lead changed hands seven times, but it was the Purple Aces who pulled off the win.

“(UNI head coach) Ben Jacobson is the standard in the Missouri Valley Conference, it doesn’t matter what year it is, they play the same quality basketball,” UE head coach David Ragland said.  “Our guys kept fighting, clawing and did whatever they could to come out on top and I am proud of the group.”

Antonio Thomas had the best Division I performance of his career, tallying 27 points.  He was 8-of-11 from the field and 9-for-10 from the line. His top collegiate scoring output of 29 came in his time at Kentucky Wesleyan.  He added 5 rebounds and 5 assists.  Ben Humrichous scored 18 points while Joshua Hughes scored 11.  Tanner Cuff registered 9 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.  Tytan Anderson led UNI with 20 points while Nate Heise scored 19.

“Our main goal was to stay focused and bounce back. We went into practice that next day and worked on our mistakes,” Thomas exclaimed.  ”It was good to hit some shots today and I credit my team for trusting me with the ball in my hands.”

Cam Haffner opened the day with a pair of 3-pointers to give the Aces a 6-5 edge.  A basket from Ben Humrichous and two Antonio Thomas free throws extended the lead to 10-5.  Joshua Hughes converted a long 2-pointer in a run that was capped off by a triple from Gage Bobe that extended the lead to 19-9 at the 12:07 mark.

Over the next four minutes, the Panthers chipped away at the UE lead, closing to 21-16 with the half entering its final nine minutes.  UNI got even closer when a field goal by Tytan Anderson closed the gap to 24-20 inside of six minutes left.  Antonio Thomas scored on the ensuing possession before a layup from Tanner Cuff pushed the lead back to eight (28-20) with 4:55 showing on the clock.

Limited to 20 points through the first 15 minutes of the game, Northern Iowa scored 17 in the final minutes to retake the lead entering halftime.  Scoring nine of the next ten points, the Panthers tied the game at 29-29 less than two minutes later before going up 33-30.  Four in a row by the Aces put them back up 34-33 as Thomas and Cuff each hit shots.  The final minute saw UNI counter with four in a row to head into halftime with a 37-34 advantage.

Ben Humrichous was held to just two points in the first half, but scored five in the first 3+ minutes of the second.  His offensive rebound and score made it a 1-point game before a triple with 16:40 remaining tie the score at 43-43.  Seconds later, Haffner gave Evansville its first lead of the second half at 45-44.

Up 48-47, Northern Iowa posted eight of the next ten to take their largest lead at 56-49.  Hughes continued a perfect 4-for-4 start as a dunk completed a 6-0 run to make it a 56-55 game entering the last 11 minutes.  The Panthers would once again push the lead back out to six points at 63-57 with eight minutes left and that is when it began to rain triples.

Humrichous converted back-to-back triples to cut the UNI lead to 66-65, but both times the Panthers countered with long balls of their own to go back up four.  Antonio Thomas connected on a triple shortly after before he and Tanner Cuff converted on another basket to put Evansville in front – 72-71 – with 3:22 left.  In the final minutes of regulation, the Aces would go up by three on two occasions, but a shot with seven second on the clock saw the Panthers tie it to force overtime.

An exciting overtime session ensued with the lead changing hands seven times.  Neither team backed down, but it was Evansville who came through in the end.  With 1:38 remaining in OT, Antonio Thomas drained his second triple to give UE an 86-84 lead and they would never give up that advantage.  After UNI made one free throw on their next trip down the floor, a turnover by UE gave the ball right back.  With 35 ticks on the clock, Humrichous blocked a Panther attempt and the dagger came from Tanner Cuff.  His 3-pointer with seven seconds left put the Aces up 89-85 and UE would go on to win by a 91-89 final.

“I am grateful that Antonio and my team trusted me to take that shot,” Cuff explained when detailing the late triple.  “I work on my shooting all the time and just knew it was going in.”

Evansville completed the game shooting 54.5% from the field with UNI checking in at 50.0%.  The Aces had a 34-29 edge in the boards.  There were 13 lead changed and eight ties in the contest.

BYU is next up for the Aces as they will tangle on Tuesday in Provo, Utah.  The Cougars enter the game with a 7-0 record and were ranked 19^th in both national polls last week.

The Purple Aces match their highest steals total with nine

MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome being down 16 points in the first quarter against the UT Martin Skyhawks.

A slow first half on offense was too much for the Purple Aces to combat in their 94-82 loss to the Skyhawks. But UE was able to make a game of the second half, coming back from a 27-point deficit midway through the third to only a 12-point loss.  Four players had double-figure performances while every available member of Evansville’s bench scored at least a point.

Evansville opened up scoring in the game with a basket from center Barbora Tomancova. But an early six-point run for UT Martin led to a lead the Aces couldn’t overcome. UE trailed by 16 points with only a minute and a half left in the first quarter. But an eight-point run highlighted by back-to-back threes from Hartwig and Kynidi Mason Striverson put Evansville back within single digits.

The Aces deficit again grew to double-digits at the start of the second quarter and didn’t come down for the rest of the half. UE was able to match the Skyhawks shot for shot early But a five-point scoring run from UT Martin kept the half out of reach as Evansville went into halftime down to 51-34.

It was a slow start to the second half for the Aces as their first basket came after three minutes from the free throw line. Several small runs from the Skyhawks had UE trailing by 27 with just under six minutes left in the third quarter. Halfway through the frame, Evansville’s offense found a little fire with a five-point run to bring the deficit back down to 20. It was back and forth the rest of the quarter with a score of 75-54 going into the final frame.

The Aces benefited in the fourth quarter from 17 chances at the free-throw line through 10 minutes. With mostly bench players in the game for both teams, UE began to slowly chip away at the 20+ point lead. A 12-point run to end the game for Evansville put forward Anica Skrivan into double digits and made it a 94-82 final.

Forward Maggie Hartwig led the Aces on both sides of the ball with 17 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes on the floor. UE also had double-digit performances from Kynidi Mason Striverson (15), Tomancova (14), and Skrivan (10). Tomancova also excelled on the defensive side of the ball with eight rebounds, two steals, and one block. For the third game in a row, Evansville led at the glass with 30 rebounds.

The Aces return home for a Wednesday night matchup with IUPUI on the 6^th. Tip-off from Meeks Family Fieldhouse is set for 6 p.m.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball returned home to Screaming Eagles Arena on Friday night, where graduate guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) scored a career-high 16 points and junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) posted her second double-double of the season, but it was not enough as the Screaming Eagles fell to Murray State University, 93-73.

The two teams matched in the opening minutes, exchanging baskets in the first four and a half minutes toward an early 6-6 score. Then Murray State built a lead in the middle of the first quarter, 15-8, but Southern Indiana battled back to within one possession. USI senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) got off to a good start in the game, earning six points in the first quarter off opportunistic looks inside. In a hectic, physical finish to the first quarter, Murray State took a 20-14 advantage into the second stanza.

Murray State had a fast start to the second, increasing their lead to 11, 25-14. Despite a spurt in the middle of the second with tallies from Raley, Shafford, and senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana), the Racers’ offense continued to click while getting stops on the defensive end. In the back half of the second frame, Murray State went on a 12-0 run to take a 48-24 lead, holding USI scoreless for nearly four minutes. The Eagles snapped the drought with a jumper from Webb. Before the first-half buzzer, sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana) knocked down a jump shot to beat the horn. After shooting over 60 percent in the second quarter, Murray State led 49-28 going into the halftime locker room.

Southern Indiana came out of the break with a triple from Shafford and a bucket by Webb. Webb crossed over into double figures scoring during the third quarter. After seven threes in the first half, Murray State’s hot shooting resumed after halftime with another pair of treys, giving the Racers a 58-37 lead at the 6:23 mark of the third. However, the Eagles still had a strong quarter going, shooting over 44 percent in the third and receiving solid minutes from the bench. Inside the final minute of the third, freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) ran the floor and scored a wide-open layup after a couple of connection passes down the court. The Racers carried a 67-45 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Gannon continued her strong minutes into the start of the fourth, tallying two consecutive makes for the Eagles. Later in the fourth period, Shafford crossed into double digits in the scoring and rebounding column toward her second double-double of the season and seventh of her career. Down the stretch, Handley caught fire, drilling three triples toward 12 fourth-quarter points and a career best for the game. Despite USI shooting over 52 percent and outscoring the Racers in the fourth period, Murray State maintained its cushion toward the win.

Southern Indiana’s second-half shooting put USI at nearly 43 percent (32-75) overall for the game with six three-pointers. USI outrebounded Murray State, 47-45, and outscored the Racers in the paint, 40-32. Handley’s 16 points led the Eagles. Webb totaled 14 points, and Shafford posted 11 points and 10 rebounds in the double-double effort. Saunders, who also had a nice scoring stretch late, recorded eight points alongside Raley and Gannon.

Even though Murray State’s offense cooled off in the second half, the Racers shot over 44 percent (33-74) from the floor with 13 threes. Five players scored 10 or more for Murray State, including a game-high 17 points from senior forward Katelyn Young.

Friday was the third consecutive setback for USI, who moves to 3-3 on the season. Murray State went to 4-2 with the victory.