UE men earn huge win over Valparaiso

Aces finish with 64-53 triumph

 

K.J. Riley posted the second double-double of his career with 10 points and 12 rebounds while Marty Hill notched 14 points to push the University of Evansville men’s basketball team to a 64-53 win over Valparaiso on Saturday inside Ford Center.

Six of Riley’s ten points came from the line as he was 6-for-8.  His other double-double came earlier this season at Murray State.  Riley’s 12 boards tied his career mark. Marty Hill notched 12 of his points in the second half, including a game-changing 8-0 stretch that gave Evansville (10-13, 4-6 MVC) the lead for good.

“I thought our guys showed a lot of resiliency.  We did not play well offensively in the early-going, but we started making our shots and playing with pace and things started to turn our way,” Aces head coach Walter McCarty said.  “It all started on the defensive end, they were talking and doing what they needed and it really translated to the offensive side.”

“Our guys just fought hard today and played for each other.”

Four Valpo (12-11, 5-5 MVC) players scored in double figures with Javon Freeman and Markus Golder registering 12 apiece.

John Hall got the scoring started with a triple, but Valparaiso found its groove early on, taking an 11-3 lead.  Evansville started the game 1-for-8 from the field with four turnovers. Dainius Chatkevicius ended the stretch with a bucket nine minutes in.  Valparaiso added three points before Jawaun Newton countered with three free throws to make it a 14-8 game.

With seven minutes remaining, the Crusaders pushed their lead back out to eight tallies at 18-10 before Evan Kuhlman got on the board with his first triple of the day.  UE kept fighting back as the minutes wound down and the work paid off when Shea Feehan notched his first basket – a triple – to tie the game at 24-24 with one minute remaining.  The Crusaders were able to take a 27-24 lead into the halftime break thanks to a triple in the final seconds. All nine UE players scored in the first half with John Hall recording five to lead the way.

In the first two minutes of the second half, the Crusaders posted the first four points to push the lead back to seven before the Aces got on the board with a pair of Marty Hill free throws.  K.J. Riley added a putback on the next trip down the floor to make it a one-possession game again. Hill connected once again six minutes into the period when his bucket tied it back up at 34-34.  Less than one minute later, a Chatkevicius free throw gave Evansville its first lead – 35-34 – since the opening minutes of the contest.

UE forced a turnover on the defensive side and Shea Feehan connected on the runout to add to the advantage before Jawaun Newton hit a jumper to push the lead to 39-34, the largest UE advantage of the game, with 11:30 on the clock.  The Crusaders quickly rebounded with eight in a row over the ensuing three minutes to go back up by a 42-41 score.

Marty Hill’s strong second half of play continued when he reeled off eight points in a row to put the lead back in the Aces’ hands for good.  Noah Frederking added a triple to make it a 52-44 UE lead inside of six minutes remaining. Shamar Givance, who had eight points and five assists, pushed the lead to double figures for the first time in the final two minutes before it went final by a 64-53 score.

“We just came together and stayed with it,” Marty Hill explained after the game.  “We fought and stuck with it the entire game. Once we picked up the pace, we were able to do well.”

Both squads finished the game shooting 42.9% (21-of-49).  Evansville finished with a 35-28 edge on the boards with Riley leading all players with 12.

Evansville will take to the road for its next two games.  The Aces will be in Terre Haute on Wednesday to face Indiana State before traveling to Carbondale next Saturday to face Southern Illinois.