EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Evansville seniors David Howard and Jaylon Brown came ready to play here Saturday afternoon, combining for 43 points and pouring in one clutch basket after another in a 74-66 Purples Aces win over Missouri State.
Howard was 7-for-10 from the field for a career-high 17 points, while Brown, the MVC’s leading scorer, finished 9-for-12 for 25 points. Evansville (11-14, 2-10) also got 16 points from junior Duane Gibson.
The Bears (15-10, 6-6 MVC) were led by Jarred Dixon who tallied 16 points off the bench. The only MSU starter to crack double figures was Obediah Church who posted 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Missouri State battled from behind most of the ball game, falling behind out of the blocks on a triple by Ryan Taylor on the Aces’ second possession. UE led by four at the intermission and held off two Missouri State ties before the midway point in the second half.
A transition layup by Church that was goal-tended by UE tied the game, 34-34, at the 17:41 mark, and later a traditional 3-point play by Dixon knotted the score at 44 with 11:34 to play.
Ryan Kreklow buried a 3-pointer for the Bears at the 10:29 mark to give MSU its first lead of the second stanza, 47-46. But as it did most of the night, Evansville counter-punched with four straight points to regain control.
Later in the second half, Church tied the game at 50 on a two-shot free throw opportunity before the eight-minute timeout. Three minutes later, Dixon gave the Bears their biggest lead of the day, 59-57, with a clutch trey out of the right side with just under five minutes to play.
But MSU would convert just one field goal the rest of the way, and the final two minutes belonged to the home team. With the Bears staying within a possession of the lead, 66-63, after a pair of free throws by Kreklow, the Aces got two clutch jumpers by Brown and 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to ice the win.
Church’s layup with 50 seconds remaining got the Bears within four and ended a four-minute drought for the Bears without a field goal. But MSU went cold on its final three possessions to fall by eight.
Missouri State finished 23-for-52 (.442) from the field and 9-of-24 (.375) from long range. The Bears were also 11-for-15 (.733) at the foul line with just 11 turnovers.
Evansville became the first MVC team to out-rebound the Bears this season, gaining a 32-28 advantage on the glass. Five offensive rebounds by the Aces led to 10 second-chance points for the home side, which also accounted for 32 points in the paint.
On the afternoon, Evansville was 29-for-52 (.558) overall and 1-for-4 (.250) from bonus distance. The Purple Aces were 15-for-24 (.625) at the charity stripe and turned the ball over just five times.
MSU spent most of the first half fighting from behind as well. The Bears led briefly six minutes into the game on a 3-pointer by Alize Johnson that made it 10-9, but Evansville responded with the game’s next eight points to lead by seven at the midway point. Kreklow got the Bears within one at the 3:18 mark on his first trey of the game, but UE closed out the opening half on a 5-2 run to lead 30-26 at the intermission.
MSU concludes its two-game Valley road swing Thursday at Wichita State at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. The Bears then return home on Feb. 12 against Northern Iowa at 3 p.m.
Tickets for the UNI game – and all remaining home games — may be purchased at the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena or by phone at (417) 836-7678. Regular-priced tickets are also available anytime at MissouriStateBears.com.
