Evansville, IN (Sports Network) - Colt Ryan poured in 33 points as the
Evansville Purple Aces took an 84-78 overtime victory over the Drake Bulldogs
in Missouri Valley Conference action at the Knapp Center.
Ryan hit 8-of-21 shots from the floor and 14-of-15 from the free-throw line
while grabbing seven steals for Evansville (14-11, 7-6 MVc) which had lost
three of its last four games. Ned Cox added 21 points and six assists and
Troy Taylor had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Ben Simons scored 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting, Richard Carter had 13 points
and seven assists, Seth VenDeest chipped in 11 points and Jordan Clarke had a
double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds for Drake (11-13, 5-8) which has
lost back-to-back games.
Drake led 35-26 at halftime by shooting 40.6 percent from the field,
including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, while holding Evansville to 28.1
percent shooting.
Both teams shot an even 50 percent from the field in the second half. The
Bulldogs led by three points with 1:21 remaining after a pair of free throws
from Simons. After getting a stop on Evansville's next possession the Bulldogs
had a chance to close out the game at the free-throw line but Carter
failed to convert the front end of a one-and-one. The Purple Aces collected
the rebound and Ryan nailed a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to knot the
game at 66-66. Carter missed a driving shot as time expired to send the
game to overtime.
In the extra session the Purple Aces continually willed themselves to the
free-throw line and by hitting 16-of-18 shots from the stripe were able to
pull out the victory.
The game featured 11 ties and 16 lead changes. Evansville forced 19 turnovers
and scored 25 points off those takeaways while coughing the ball up only seven
times itself.
GAME NOTES:
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