UE overcomes 11-point first half deficit 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In a game that featured 11 lead changes, Chuck Bailey III converted a 4-point play to put the University of Evansville men’s basketball team in front for good, leading to a 70-61 win over Bellarmine inside Freedom Hall on Saturday afternoon.

Bailey was one of four players to finish in double figures, recording 12 points.  Yacine Toumi had a team-high 14 points while Ben Humrichous added 12 and Kenny Strawbridge Jr. completed the game with 10.  Antonio Thomas put forth an efficient all-around performance with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.  Humrichous had a team-high 9 caroms.  Leading the way for Bellarmine was Langdon Hatton.  He recorded 18 points and 11 rebounds.

“This was a big road win for us.  To be down double digits in the first half and rally to take a lead at the break was huge,” UE head coach David Ragland exclaimed.  “This is one of those games that really builds your culture.  We had contributions from so many guys and it helps their confidence.”

It was Toumi providing the offense in the early moments.  After the Knights posted the first basket of the day, Toumi connected on his first three attempts to give UE a 6-2 lead.  Bellarmine began the game hitting one of their first nine attempts.

Following the tough start, BU countered with 11 in a row to take 13-6 edge.  The Aces uncharacteristically had five turnovers in the opening eight minutes and the Knights took full advantage, turning those into nine points.  With 8:08 remaining in the opening stanza, Bellarmine opened its largest advantage at 24-13.

Evansville got back to business over the final segment of the half, outscoring Bellarmine by a 16-4 margin to hold the lead heading into the break.  Chuck Bailey III took it coast-to-coast as UE registered four in a row.  Bailey converted once again, hitting a 3-pointer at the 3:21 mark to make it a 1-possession game at 26-23.  The Knights pushed the lead to 28-23, but the Aces would score the final six of the half to take a 29-28 advantage.  Joshua Hughes took a feed from Kenny Strawbridge Jr. for the final basket of the half.

An exciting second half saw the squads swap the lead in the opening minutes before Bellarmine went up 46-40 at the 13:39 mark.  Tanner Cuff had a 3-point play and Bailey would hit his second triple of the afternoon to tie the game at 48-48 as the game entered the final 10 minutes.  Bellarmine posted the next four points while the Aces came back to go up 57-55 inside of the 7-minute mark thanks to an excellent move by Tanner Cuff.

With 3:47 remaining and the game knotted at 59-59, it was Bailey with the game-changing play.  The freshman was fouled on a 3-point make and the 4-point play gave UE the lead for good.  With just over a minute remaining, a putback by Toumi proved to be the dagger as it pushed the lead to 68-61.  Evansville would go on to win the game by a 70-61 final.

UE shot 47.4% in the road triumph while holding the Knights to 34.3%.  The Aces wrapped up the game with a 39-38 edge on the boards.

Next up in a busy stretch is a home game on Monday against UT Martin.  Tip is set for 7 p.m. inside the Ford Center.

The Purple Aces held the Lions to only seven points in the fourth quarter

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A second chance layup and two free throws sealed the win for the University of Evansville women’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon.

With coaches donned in festive apparel for the holiday season, the Aces beat the Lindenwood Lions 70-68 on Saturday. It was UE’s first home win of the 2023-24 season after three close attempts over the past month. Four players scored in double-figures while freshman forward Maggie Hartwig had her third double-double of the year.

“I’m really really proud of our resiliency,” said Head Coach Robyn Scherr-Wells following the win. “I wish we would stop digging ourselves such a big hole. But we’ve shown that we have the ability to get back in the game, so we don’t quit. Finally, we came out on the winning side of one of those close games. I’m proud of our girls and I’m proud of our fourth-quarter play to get the win,”.

Evansville started Saturday’s contest with a bang as guard Alana Striverson sunk a wide-open three for the early lead. The Lions matched the three seconds later, establishing the back-and-forth pace of the first quarter. A seven-point run midway through the first put UE down by six. But guard Madlena Gerke started to heat up, getting the offense going to only trail by four when the quarter ended.

The Aces retook the lead in the second quarter on a guard Julia Palomo’s first three of the day. But with 5:07 left in the first half, Evansville hit a cold shooting streak. UE didn’t make a basket for the next five minutes for a 12-point hole. A last-second layup from guard Kynidi Mason Striverson broke the Aces scoreless run to make it a 10-point game going into the second half.

It was another hot start to the second half for Evansville with five points in the first minute of play. The teams traded shots after the first 60 seconds as UE got back within five thanks to a three from guard Lexie Sinclair and free throws from Hartwig and Gerke. But the Aces’ shooting woes returned as Lindenwood broke out on a 10-point run for another double-digit deficit. With just under two minutes in the third Evansville trailed by 18 for its largest hole of the game. UE headed into the final frame with 16 points to make up in 10 minutes.

Momentum swung back in the Aces favor in the fourth quarter as Gerke hit a three to start a seven-point run. The Lions cut into the run with an attempt at the line but it didn’t slow down Evansville’s pace with two back-to-back field goals. Midway through the quarter layups were traded but a trey from Hartwig with five minutes on the clock began a 12-2 run.

Center Barbora Tomancova got the game within one for UE with an and-one opportunity at the line. While she missed the free throw, Hartwig fought two Lindenwood players for the offensive rebound to make the second chance layup to take the lead. The Lions tied the game back up with a free throw, but an identical opportunity came for Palomo with two seconds left. Palomo hit both shots from the charity stripe with ease, giving the Aces the 70-68 win.

Hartwig, Mason Striverson, Gerke, and Tomancova all had double-digit performances for Evansville on Saturday. Hartwig also led the team on defense with 12 rebounds and a steal. Tomancova was UE’s block leader with two while Gerke added her fifth of the season. The Aces also benefited from 17 assists and more second-chance points down the stretch.

It will be a quick turnaround for Evansville as they head up to Bloomington on Monday, Dec. 18. UE will face the no. 15 team in the nation in the Hoosiers on Monday night. Tip-off from Assembly Hall is set for 6 p.m. with the game to be broadcast on Big Ten+.

Evansville, In.:  After the Rivermen rallied twice in the third period to tie the game, a late power play goal from Bair Gendunov proved to be enough, as the Thunderbolts skated by the Rivermen with a 4-3 victory on Saturday night at Ford Center, moving up to 9^th place as a result.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Sunday, December 31^st against the Macon Mayhem, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.

After a scoreless and penalty-free first period, Nick Prestia opened the scoring at 4:51 with his first professional goal, assisted by Matt Dorsey.  A few minutes later at 8:21, Myles Abbate scored off the rush from Bair Gendunov and Prestia to make it a 2-0 Evansville lead.  The Rivermen pushed Evansville to the brink in the third period, tying the game 2-2 with goals from Tristan Trudel at 6:38 and Alec Baer at 9:01.  The Thunderbolts grabbed a 3-2 lead just a couple minutes later at 11:32 with Tommy Stang scoring from Brendan Harrogate and Jordan Spadafore, however the Rivermen tied the game again as Braydon Barker scored at 13:37.  With a late power play opportunity, Gendunov scored at 16:40 from Chays Ruddy and Stang to put Evansville ahead for the third time, 4-3 the score.  The Rivermen would go up on a 6-on-4 attack with goaltender Nick Latinovich pulled on top of being on a late power play, but Evansville successfully defended the lead with clutch defense and goaltending.  Now on a three-game win streak, and a four-game win streak at home, the Thunderbolts have moved out of 10^th place and into 9^th, now only 3 points out of a playoff spot as the Thunderbolts continue to gel and build momentum.

Stang, Gendunov and Prestia each scored a goal and assist, Abbate finished with one goal, and  Cole Ceci picked up his 5^th win of the season by stopping 32 of 35 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet again on Friday, December 22^nd at Peoria Civic Center.

ULLIN, Ill. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers continued their Region 24 schedule Saturday afternoon with another road matchup, this time at Shawnee Community College in Ullin.

The Lady Blazers came out firing and tied a VU school record for fewest points allowed in a quarter allowing just a single free throw in the opening quarter of play.

VU then rode this defensive showing to a very impressive 108-28 victory over the Lady Saints.

Vincennes got off to an excellent start against the Lady Saints, allowing one free throw in the opening 10 minutes of play and closing out the first quarter on a 29-0 scoring run to take a 33-1 lead in the second period.

The Lady Blazers held the Lady Saints without a made field goal until the 8:29 mark in the second quarter, before VU would again close out the quarter strong by outscoring Shawnee 14-1 to take a 65-9 lead into the halftime break.

Vincennes looked to take their foot off the gas coming out of the halftime break but were able to put together a couple good scoring runs to hold an 85-23 lead going into the fourth quarter.

VU closed out the game strong in the fourth, scoring the final 15 points of the game to finish out a 108-28 victory over Shawnee.

The Lady Blazers were led by a breakout game by sophomore Brie Miller (Bainbridge, Ind.) who set a new career-high with 28 points and six rebounds.

Sophomore Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France) controlled the game around the basket, coming away with another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds on a perfect seven of seven shooting from the floor.

Sophomore Maycee Lange (Vincennes, Ind.) was very close to finishing out a triple-double, ending with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Sophomore Johnai Wimbleduff (Indianapolis, Ind.) came off the bench to add 15 points, five rebounds and a team-high four steals.

Freshman Karina Scott (Noblesville, Ind.) was the fifth VU scorer in double figures, ending her day with 11 points and three assists.

Freshman Destinee Hooks (Indianapolis, Ind.) was very close to a double-double of her own off the bench, ending with nine points, 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals.

The Lady Trailblazers shared the ball extremely well Saturday afternoon, collecting 39 assists on 45 made shots for the game.

VU will look to keep their momentum going into their next game when the Trailblazers host Jefferson College in the Physical Education Complex Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. eastern.

This will be the final game of 2023 for the Lady Trailblazers, with Vincennes returning to the home floor after the holiday break Saturday, Jan. 13 to host John A. Logan College at 2 p.m. eastern.

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (108): Karina Scott 4-6 0-0 11, Katrina Litte 2-8 0-0 5, Brie Miller 13-16 2-3 28, Elikya Baseyila 7-7 2-2 16, Maycee Lange 7-13 0-0 15, Destinee Hooks 3-9 1-2 9, Makyla Tucker 0-5 3-4 3, Najra Voloder 3-5 0-2 6, Johnai Wimbleduff 6-9 3-3 15, Team 45-78 11-16 108.

VU (6-7, 2-0) – 33    32   20   23 – 108

Shawnee – 1   8   14   5 – 28

Three-point goals: VU 7 (Scott 3, Hooks 2, Litte, Lange). Rebounds: VU 47 (Baseyila 10). Assists: VU 39 (Hooks 10). Steals: VU 19 (Hooks 4, Tucker 4, Wimbleduff 4). Blocked Shots: VU 7 (Lange 2, Hooks 2, Voloder 2). Turnovers: VU 14. Personal Fouls: VU 17. Fouled out: None.