UE men defeat Illinois State for 4th win in a row

Evansville earns 57-48 win on Saturday

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In the weekend series opener, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team won its fourth Missouri Valley Conference game in a row and ended an 11-game skid against Illinois State by earning a 57-48 victory inside the Ford Center on Saturday afternoon.

Junior Jawaun Newton tied his career mark, scoring 19 points in an accurate 8-for-12 effort while connecting on three of his five 3-point attempts.  Shamar Givance added another excellent all-around game.  He scored 15 points while registering seven boards, six assists and two steals while drawing eight fouls on the day.  His six assists came against just one turnover in his 29 minutes of work.  With Evan Kuhlman in foul trouble, Iyen Enaruna played admirably, scoring eight points while hauling in two important offensive boards.

“I thought we showed some resilience today.  There were times that we got discouraged today, but I reminded them that is not who they are.  I told them that they always stay the course and they responded,” Aces head coach Todd Lickliter exclaimed following the win.  “Give Illinois State credit – that is the first time we saw full court pressure like that.  They also played zone against us, which we do not see a whole lot of either.  Our guys made some good adjustments and our staff did a great job.  All in all, it was a great team effort.”

Illinois State (3-6, 0-3 MVC) jumped out to a 7-2 advantage in the opening moments of the game in a run that saw them hit five of their first seven attempts.  Evansville (6-5, 4-1 MVC) fought back to take its first lead at 12-10 when Samari Curtis hit his first triple of the game at the 12:35 mark.  The Redbirds countered with an 11-0 stretch that pushed the lead to nine points inside of the 8-minute mark.

Their lead reached as many as 10 when a Dedric Boyd free throw made it a 24-14 game with 5:49 left in the half.  That is when Evansville kicked it into high gear.  UE kept the Redbirds off the board for over five minutes while scoring ten in a row to tie it up.  Shamar Givance and Iyen Enaruna started the rally as the Aces hit four shots in a row.  Enaruna struck again with a put-back that tied it up at 24-24.  A late ISU triple got them back on track and they would take a 27-26 lead into the break.

Continuing its hot streak from the end of the first half, Evansville hit its first three shots of the second period to take a 33-28 advantage.  Jawaun Newton opened it up with a triple before Givance and Noah Frederking hit buckets to open the half.  Once again, Illinois State pushed back.  An 8-2 run put them back in front by a 36-35 margin, but the Aces came right back.

Jax Levitch knocked down his second 3-pointer before another Enaruna basket was followed by Newton’s second from outside that gave Evansville its largest lead at 43-36 with 11:17 left in the game.  Two minutes later, it was Newton connected on another trey to push the lead to double figures for the first time – 51-41.  A quick 4-0 spurt got ISU back within two possessions inside of eight minutes remaining, but the story over the final minutes was the Evansville defense.

Holding on to a 51-45 lead, the Aces clamped down – holding Illinois State scoreless for a span of 7:28.  The Redbirds missed eight shots in a row while turning the ball over twice.  Evansville’s offense struggled over the final eight minutes, hitting two out of 11 attempts, but they were able to hit the big shots when it counted as a drive by Givance with 66 ticks left on the clock made it a 55-45 game and the Aces held strong from there, earning a 57-48 triumph.

Pacing the Redbirds was Antonio Reeves, who scored 11 points.  Josiah Strong and DJ Horne added 10 apiece.  Dusan Majhorcic led all players with 11 rebounds as ISU finished with a 32-30 edge on the glass.

One of the MVC’s most accurate shooters from outside added to his tally today with Jax Levitch draining two of his three attempts from outside while adding three assists and three rebounds.  The 4-1 start to Valley play marks the best since the 2015-16 campaign when the Aces won six of their first seven games.  That season also marked the last win over the Redbirds, which was a 66-55 victory at Redbird Arena.  The win marked just the third time since the 2000-01 season that Evansville has started league play winning four of its first five games.

Evansville will look to continue the streak on Sunday with another 1 p.m. tilt versus the Redbirds at the Ford Center.