Season opens on February 9

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – With the calendar turning to 2024 in the coming weeks, University of Evansville head softball coach Mat Mundell has announced the upcoming spring schedule.

Friday, February 9 will mark opening day for the Purple Aces as they will be in Elon, N.C. for the Elon Softball Classic.  A big test awaits UE out of the gate when they face Miami Ohio.  The RedHawks are the defending Mid-American Conference Champions and won two games in the NCAA Regionals.  Miami won 39 games a season ago.  Opening weekend will see the Aces face Kent State on two occasions, Elon and a rematch versus Miami.

Evansville’s home tournament will be held on Feb. 17-18 at Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium.  Miami Ohio and Austin Peay will be the opponents with the Aces facing both teams twice.  Another road trip is set for the 23^rd-25^th when UE travels to Monroe, La. for the Best on the Bayou Tournament.  The opposition that weekend includes Northwestern State, Syracuse, Sam Houston and UL Monroe.

March begins with the Low Country Classic in Charleston, S.C.  Running from March 1-3, the tournament includes Buffalo, College of Charleston and Wofford, who is playing its inaugural season of softball. On March 6, UE returns home for a doubleheader against Lindenwood before making the short trip to Louisville for the Bellarmine Tournament.  Evansville faces the Knights in three games along with one contest versus St. Bonaventure.

Missouri Valley Conference play opens with home games versus Indiana State on March 12 and 13.  The Sycamores tied for 4^th in the league last season and won 32 games.  In its first weekend conference series, the Aces play host to Valparaiso from the 15^th-17^th.  SIU Edwardsville comes to town on the 19^th for a single game.

In its first league road trip, the Aces head to Belmont for the weekend of the 22^nd and head back home to complete the month with a home series versus UIC.  USI will mark the final non-conference opponent of the regular season.  The Aces host the Screaming Eagles on April 3.  Two MVC road series are up next when UE travels to Drake (April 5-7) and Southern Illinois (April 12-24).

Murray State comes to Evansville for a 3-game series running from the 19^th through the 21^st.  In their first season in the Valley, the Racers tied for fourth and won a total of 33 games.  On April 24, the Aces head to Terre Haute for a single game at Indiana State before playing their final home weekend, welcoming Missouri State.  The Bears finished second in the conference last year, going 21-6 against league opposition.  Senior weekend is set for April 26-28.

Regular-season play wraps up with a road series at Illinois State from May 3-5.  Normal, Ill. will also be the site of the 2024 MVC Championship from May 8-11.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball snapped a three-game losing streak with a big 79-47 victory over the University of St. Francis (Illinois) Tuesday evening at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles rise to 3-9 after tonight’s action, while the Fighting Saints are 2-5 in 2023-24.

Following an extremely slow start by both teams, USI exploded on an 18-6 run midway through the opening half to take control, 23-11. Sophomore guard Ryan Hall (Kettering, Ohio) led the charge with a pair of three-point field goals, while sophomore guard/forward AJ Smith (Edwardsville, Illinois) and senior forward/center Nolan Causwell (Duluth, Georgia) added five points and four points, respectively, during the run.
 
The Saint climbed back into the contest with a 11-4 spurt to close the gap to 27-22 with 2:53 on the first half clock before the Eagles could take back control. USI scored seven of the final 11 points of the half to lead 34-26 at the break.
 
Sophomore guard Jack Campion (Milton, Wisconsin) and Smith led the USI offensive attack during the first half with seven points each.
 
After the start of the second half, it was all USI as the Eagles went on a 13-0 run to lead 47-27 and held the Saints scoreless for the first 7:21 of the final half. Junior forward Jack Mielke (Downers Grove, Illinois) led the Eagles in the run with six of the 13 points.
 
USI continued to expand its lead to as many as 32 points in cruising to the 79-47 victory. The Eagles’ defense held the Saints to 28.6 percent from the field in the second half (8-28) and 35.8 percent from outside (19-53) for the game. Offensively, USI shot 59.3 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes (16-27), 63.6 percent from beyond the arc (7-11).
 
Individually, Mielke had 15 second half points and led USI in scoring with a career-high 18 points. The junior forward was a blistering six-of-eight from beyond the arc to lead the way.
 
Smith followed Mielke with 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The sophomore guard/forward was four-of-eight from the field, including a pair of three-point field goals, and six-of-seven from the stripe.
 
Hall rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Eagles with a season-high 13 points, adding seven in the second half. He had the hot hand tonight, hitting five-of-seven from the field, including three-of-four from outside the arc.
 
Next Up For USI:
The Eagles conclude the non-conference portion of the 2023-24 schedule December 22 when they visit Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. Tipoff has been changed to 6 p.m. 

The Salukis are 7-4 overall after snapping their two-game skid with a 76-63 win over North Dakota State University this evening in Carbondale.
 
The Eagles posted their first victory over the Salukis and in NCAA Division I play with a 71-53 win at Screaming Eagles Arena last season. Guard Jelani Simmons led the Eagles with 18 points. SIU leads the all-time series with USI, 3-1, dating back to 1981.
 

UE enters the game with a 9-2 mark

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A span of three games over a span of five days concludes on Wednesday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team faces Tennessee Tech at the Ford Center.  Tip is set for 7 p.m. with ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network having the coverage.

Looking at the Start

– Sitting at 9-2, the Purple Aces are off to their best start since 2017 when the program won 10 of its first 12 games

– Evansville has won its first five home games for the first time since 2018; UE opened each season between 2015 and 2018 with wins in their opening five home contests

Last Time Out

– Once again, contributions came from everywhere on Monday as the Aces defeated UT Martin by a score of 98-91

– Five UE players reached double figures with Kenny Strawbridge Jr. registering a season-high 21 points

– Tanner Cuff set his career mark with 14 points and came close to a triple double, adding 8 assists and 8 caroms

– Ben Humrichous and Yacine Toumi scored 15 apiece while Chuck Bailey III finished with 12

 Make it Three

– When the Missouri Valley Conference announced its weekly awards on Dec. 18, Chuck Bailey III was named the Freshman of the Week for the third time in 2023

– In the win at Bellarmine, he scored 12 points and had a 4-point play that broke a tie in the final four minutes to give the Aces a lead they would not give up

– He followed that up with 12 points against UT Martin while adding 6 rebounds

– Bailey is fourth on the squad with 10.0 points per contest

Doing It All

– Monday’s game versus the Skyhawks saw Tanner Cuff put together the top game of his collegiate career

– He finished with a career-high 14 points along with 8 boards and 8 assists

– With 39 assists against 10 turnovers, he paces the MVC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.90; that tally is 10th in the NCAA

– Cuff has multiple assists in 7 of the last 8 games with his top total of eight coming at MSU and vs. UTM

– Over the last two games, Cuff has gone a perfect 10-for-10 inside the arc

Season-High

– Scoring seven of UE’s first 10 points against the Skyhawks, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. finished the game with a season-high 21 points

– His previous season mark of 17 came in the Nov. 25 win over SEMO

– In the second half of the Nov. 18 win over Ball State, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. reached the 1,000-point mark in his D1 career

Scouting the Opponent

– Tennessee Tech comes to Evansville with a 2-game win streak that has improved their record to 5-7 on the season

– The Golden Eagles are coming off a 70-67 win over North Alabama on Saturday

– Four players average double figures for TTU with Jayvis Harvey pacing the team with 16.4 PPG

– He is a 45.7% shooter from the field and holds the team lead with 37 assists

– David Early posts a 15.5 PPG average while Rodney Johnson Jr. and Josiah Davis average 13.1 and 10.8 points, respectively

– Johnson is the leading rebounder with 6.6 per contest