Beacons win by score of 76-69
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Valparaiso opened the second half on a 16-5 run and held off a late challenge to defeat the University of Evansville men’s basketball team by a score of 76-69 on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.
Five Purple Aces reached double figures with Yacine Toumi leading the way with 18 points, tying his career high. Antoine Smith Jr. recorded 16 while Marvin Coleman II and Kenny Strawbridge Jr. tallied 15 and 12, respectively. Smith paced the team with his top career total of eight caroms. Valpo also had four double digit scorers led by Kobe King. He led all players with 20 points and 9 rebounds.
“I thought it was a good match-up and we put ourselves in a position to win. We had stretches at the start of the second half where we gave them easy baskets and got stuck offensively,†UE head coach David Ragland stated. “Later in the game, we found our fight and worked to make our way back but credit Valpo. We need to work harder, be committed and stick together.â€
Gage Bobe got UE on the board with a layup and contributed on the defensive end as he drew a charge. With the game tied at 4-4, Yacine Toumi hit a pair of free throws before finding Marvin Coleman II for a basket that gave the Aces an 8-4 lead in the opening minutes. Valpo countered with eight in a row to go up 12-8.
Kenny Strawbridge Jr. put a temporary end to the run with a pair of free throws but the Beacons added five more to their lead to go up 17-10. Still trailing by seven, the Aces stormed back to tie the game with nine minutes remaining in the half. Toumi and Coleman had field goals while Antoine Smith Jr. capped it off with a three to knot the game at 19-19. Evansville’s defense held Valparaiso scoreless for over four minutes as they missed seven shots in a row.
Consecutive baskets by Quinton Green broke the tie but with 3:45 left in the half, Antoine Smith Jr. hit his second triple to put UE back in front – 24-23. The final minutes of the half belonged to the Beacons, who completed the period on an 11-4 run to go into the break with a 34-28 advantage.
Hitting five of their first six shots of the second half, Valpo pushed their lead into double digits for the first time at 40-29. Three early triples saw the lead extend to 18 (55-37). Evansville chipped away at the deficit with five in a row as the game entered its final nine minutes. After the Beacons retook an 18-point lead (63-45), UE stormed back with seven in a row. Coleman drained a triple while Strawbridge forced a turnover and took the ball the distance for a dunk to make it a 63-52 game with 4:44 left.
Following a basket by the Beacons, a pair of blocked shots on the defensive end led to triples for UE. Smith and Strawbridge converted 3-pointers that made it a 65-58 score with 2:38 on the clock. Inside the final minute, the Aces got within five but it was not enough to overcome the deficit with the Beacons taking the 76-69 victory.
Valpo shot 49.1% in the contest with the Aces finishing at 46.8%. The Beacons finished the day with a 35-32 edge on the boards. Evansville will be right back at it on Tuesday with a trip to Southern Illinois for a 7 p.m. game.
