Four seniors to be honored
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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Senior Night is on tap Wednesday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team plays host to Indiana State at the Ford Center. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT with ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network on the call. Seniors Gage Bobe, Kenny Strawbridge Jr., Antonio Thomas and Yacine Toumi will be honored before and after the game.
Last Time Out
– Evansville led by a 26-24 score at halftime, but an 11-0 second-half run by Southern Illinois saw them finish with a 63-53 win
– Ben Humrichous led the Purple Aces with 11 points and 7 boards while Antonio Thomas registered 10 points
Reversing the Trend
– Entering the SIU game, Antonio Thomas averaged 2.8 points in the prior four games while shooting 21.4%
– He rebounded against the Salukis with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting
– Thomas continues to be efficient from the line, connecting on 84.6% of his tries (T-5th in MVC); he has hit 23 of his last 25 tries
– With UE clinging to the lead in the final minute against Bradley, Thomas calmly hit all four of his attempts to clinch the victory
Back at his Best
– Ben Humrichous continues to get better and better since returning to the floor
– He has scored 18+ points in three of the last four games, averaging 17.5 PPG over that time
– Humrichous was 7-of-12 from the field with 6 boards and 6 assists at UIC
– He remains one of the most versatile players in the MVC and the stat rankings are indicative of that: scoring (11th | 15.4 PPG), FG% (9th | 51.6%), 3PT% (2nd | 43.5%), blocks (8th | 1.00/game)
Still Going Strong
– Leading the Purple Aces with 15 points at Murray State, Tanner Cuff continued his recent success
– Cuff has 9+ points in 6 of the last 10 games while averaging 9.0 PPG (90 points) over that span
– In the home win over UIC, he recorded a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting
– Over the last 12 games, Cuff has 19 assists and 11 turnovers; the 6 games prior saw him post 6 assists and 10 turnovers
Scouting the Opponent
– Indiana State opens the final week of the regular season with a 1-game lead atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings
– The Sycamores are 24-5 overall and stand at 15-3 in conference action
– Isaiah Swope paces ISU with 16.9 points per game with Robbie Avila just behind at 16.7 PPG
– Avila has a team-high 20 blocks and ranks second with 7.0 boards and 103 assists
– Ryan Conwell checks in with 15.8 PPG with Jayson Kent (13.1 PPG) and Julian Larry (10.8 PPG) also recording double figures
– Kent paces the Sycamores with 8.2 rebounds per game
