Game time is 1 p.m. at the Ford Center
Senior Day is on tap for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team as the Purple Aces play host to Southern Illinois in a 1 p.m. game at the Ford Center.  UE’s three seniors – Duane Gibson, Blake Simmons and Dalen Traore – will be honored before the game before giving their speeches following the contest.
Evansville dropped its fourth game in a row on Wednesday as Indiana State took a 58-53 win inside the Hulman Center. For the eighth game in a row, Ryan Taylor was the top scorer for the Purple Aces as he posted 30 points on 11-of-30 shooting. He also tied his career mark with eight rebounds in 37 minutes of work.
Dainius Chatkevicius grabbed 10 rebounds, reaching double figures in that statistic for the fourth time this season. He also registered four blocked shots. Senior Blake Simmons quietly had 9 boards of his own in the game and has averaged 9.0 per contest in his last four outings. Hitting 12 of their 14 free throw attempts, UE improved its season tally to an MVC-best 77.4%. That is 12th in the nation.
Southern Illinois looks to clinch the #2 spot in the MVC as they come into Saturday’s game with a 19-11 overall mark and stand at 11-6 in the Valley. Armon Fletcher averages a team-high 14.3 points per game and has connected on 98 free throws. Kavion Pippen checks in with 12.6 PPG while Sean Lloyd and Aaron Cook check in with 12.2 and 10.1 points, respectively. Fletcher, Pippen and Lloyd each average over five rebounds per contest.
Southern Illinois leads the series over the Aces by a 69-54 margin. The Purple Aces have had the upper hand in Evansville, going 41-17 overall and 4-2 in games played inside the Ford Center.
On January 3, the squads met at SIU Arena with the Salukis holding on for a 65-63 win. Four Aces recorded double figures, led by 21 points from Ryan Taylor and 13 by Blake Simmons. Southern Illinois also had four in double figures with Aaron Cook leading the way with 14 on a 5-7 shooting day.
