Aces and Braves to meet at 6 p.m
On Wednesday, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team looks for its first Missouri Valley Conference win when the Purple Aces welcome Bradley to the Ford Center for a 6 p.m. game. ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the coverage.
West Side Game
– It is the fifth annual Royal Express Car Wash West Side Game
– Fans can receive a voucher for $5 tickets by showing the voucher that is linked above
 Setting the Scene
– Evansville looks to put an 0-2 MVC start in the rearview mirror when the Braves come to town on Wednesday; following a 65-52 loss at Missouri State, the Aces dropped an 81-79 overtime game to Valparaiso on Saturday
– UE also looks to end a recent skid against Bradley that has seen them drop three in a row to the Braves and five of the last six meetings
– Second half defense has been one of the stories in the first two Valley games for UE
– In the opening 20 minutes, the opposition has hit 42.6% of its attempts while that number has risen to 50% in the latter half
Last Time Out
– After trailing Valparaiso by as many as 10 points in the first half, Evansville rallied to take an 8-point advantage with under four minutes remaining, but a late rally sent the game to overtime before the Crusaders finished with an 81-79 victory
– DeAndre Williams was 11-for-13 from the field on his way to 28 points; he was 3-3 from long range
– Artur Labinowicz had an efficient 5-for-7 shooting game on his way to 16 points while Sam Cunliffe and K.J. Riley posted 15 and 12 points, respectively
– Riley added 10 rebounds to finish with his fourth career double-double
– Valpo did its damage from outside, knocking down 12 of its 26 3-point tries
Nice Start
– In his first two Missouri Valley Conference games, DeAndre Williams averaged 20 points and 8 rebounds per game
– He shot 61.5% from the field and tallied four assists, four blocks and three steals. At Missouri State, Williams notched his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds
– He upped his game against Valparaiso, recording 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting; he was a perfect 3-of-3 from long range while adding six rebounds, three blocks and three assists
Making his case
– Jawaun Newton showed that persistence pays off as he saw 15 minutes of action against Valparaiso while finishing with a team-best +14 on the day
– Newton was held out of the lineup in the games against Murray State and Missouri State and played 12 minutes or fewer in each game since the start of December
– He picked up two rebounds and was 1-1 on the day against the Crusaders, but his defense was key in his time on the floor
Scouting the Opponent
– Bradley stands at 10-5 on the season and are an even 1-1 through their first two MVC games
– After starting the league slate with an 80-72 home win over Drake, the Braves dropped a 69-64 game at UNI on Saturday
– Elijah Childs is the leading rebounder and scorer for Bradley, checking in with 14.2 points and 9.1 rebounds
– His 9.1 caroms leads the conference by a full rebound over Loyola’s Cameron Krutwig while his point tally is 9th in the league
– Senior Darrell Brown averages 13.5 points per game while his 76 assists leads the squad and ranks second in the conference
– Nate Kennell has notched 12.6 PPG while his 21 steals leads the team
