Coming off of the best game of his career, senior Adam Wing and the Purple Aces men’s basketball team will be at the Ford Center on Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. game against Mississippi Valley State.
Non-conference play is already winding down as the Aces have just four more games until Missouri Valley Conference play begins. The Aces enter Saturday’s game at 7-2 after dropping an 89-76 decision at Arkansas on Tuesday night. Last Saturday, UE picked up its first victory over Murray State since 1991, downing the Racers by a final of 85-81 in overtime. On Thursday, Evansville is back at the Ford Center to take on Norfolk State in a 7 p.m. game.
Adam Wing had a perfect night in all facets on his way to a career-high of 21 points at Arkansas. Wing went a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and knocked down all five free throw attempts in his career outing. The senior is now shooting 56.0% on the season and ranks fifth in the MVC.
There is a new name atop the Purple Aces all-time blocked shots list – Egidijus
Mockevicius. His four blocks at Arkansas pushed his career tally to 228, passing Dan
Godfread’s mark of 226. Mockevicius is swatting opponents shots at the top rate of his career and has 25 through nine games. The single-season record, which is held by Godfread, stands at 92 from the 1988-89 campaign.
For the sixth time in his career, D.J. Balentine was named the MVC Player of the Week following his efforts against Alabama State and Murray State where he averaged 29 points per game. With 1,960 points in his career, he ranks atop the active NCAA scoring list and his average of 21.6 points per game this year is tops in the MVC and 17th in the NCAA. In the road win against Murray State, Balentine drained 12 of his 20 attempts, tying a career-high for made shots while also scoring a season-high of 32 points.
Mississippi Valley State takes on the Purple Aces for the first time in program history and comes to Evansville with a 0-10 mark. The Delta Devils have played some close games, falling by just a point to Air Force and losing by a final of 84-72 at Seattle on Sunday.
Marcus Romain is the top scorer for MVSU, posting 16.3 points per game while ranking second on the squad with 3.8 rebounds per contest. Romain is also their leading shooter, hitting 46.7% of his attempts while going 71.9% from the line. Also checking in with double figures is Damian Young; he has notched 11.9 points per game and is a tenacious defender, notching 24 steals in 2015.
