EVANSVILLE, Ind. – D.J. Balentine scored all 18 of his points in the second half and broke Evansville’s career scoring record to help lead the Purple Aces (19-6, 8-4 MVC) past visiting Missouri State, 83-64, here Saturday.
Balentine’s 3-pointer with 2:47 to play gave him, 2,280 career points to pass Colt Ryan as Evansville’s career scoring leader.
The Bears (10-14, 6-6) got a career-high 21 points from Chris Kendrix to lead three players in double figures. Dequon Miller and Camyn Boone each pitched in 10 points apiece for Missouri State, which had a two-game win streak snapped in the loss.
In a game that was more statistically even than the final score indicated, both teams knocked down six 3-pointers, while Evansville scored two more field goals. The difference came at the foul line, where the Aces made 27-of-31 (.871) attempts on 27 Missouri State fouls called.
The Bears countered with 32 points in the paint and held Egidijus Mockevicius and Balentine in check most of the day. But Jaylon Brown was on task, going 6-of-11 from the field for a team-high 19 points for Marty Simmons’ side.
Evansville ended the first half on a 6-0 run to lead by 13 and extended it to a 9-0 run with a trey by Brown early in the second half. Dequon Miller hit a 3-pointer for MSU to get the deficit back to 13, but that was as close as MSU would get until the 10-minute mark.
Miller started a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer, while Kendrix made two foul shots and a three before a fast-break layup by Jarred Dixon made it a 59-46 game. However, Evansville got seven more trips to the free throw line down the stretch and held on for the 19-point win.
MSU finished 23-of-64 (.359) from the field, 6-of-20 (.300) from long range and 12-of-16 (.750) at the line with 34 rebounds – 16 on the offensive end – with 15 turnovers.
“We were in foul trouble early and that really affected us,” said MSU head coach Paul Lusk. “We were exposed in a lot of areas defensively today, and their experience really showed.”
The Bears got 8 rebounds and 7 points off the bench from Tyler McCullough who fouled out late in the game. Dixon added to his team-best steal total with 4 on the day, while Kendrix, Miller and Ryan Kreklow each connected on a pair of long-range 3-pointers.
Evansville finished 25-of-56 (.446) overall from the field, 6-for-19 (.316) from downtown with 40 rebounds and 12 turnovers. Mockevicius had a game-high 12 rebounds for his 20th double-double of the season.
In the first half, the Bears allowed 9 offensive rebounds and were called for 13 fouls to give the Aces ample chances to build a double-figure lead at the break. UE was 12-of-14 at the foul line, posted 13 second-chance points and capitalized on 10 Bears turnovers to take a 40-27 lead at the midway point.
The first 10 minutes were virtually even before a 9-0 outbreak by the Purple Aces over a three-minute span changed the complexion of the game. A layup by Boone at the 10:15 mark made it a 16-12 game before Mislav Brzoja accounted for 7 of 9 points on the ensuing run by UE to make it 25-12.
Dixon finally broke the momentum with his patented floater, but the Bears would get no closer than seven the rest of the half and gave up another six-point run before the break to trail by 13.
Missouri State was without the services of senior guard Dorrian Williams in the game due to a knee injury.
