Smith, Taylor help Evansville edge Missouri St 64-55
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Dru Smith scored 15 points, Ryan Taylor added 13 and Evansville turned back Missouri State 64-55 on Wednesday night.
K.J. Riley had 11 points for the Purple Aces (12-6, 2/3 Missouri Valley Conference) and Dainiu Chatkevicius had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Alize Johnson led the Bears (13-5, 3-2) with 16 points and 14 rebounds and Jarrid Rhodes and Reggie Scurry had 10 points each.
Evansville scored the first six points and led wire-to-wire. The Purple Aces led by as many as 11 points in the first half before settling for a 31-24 advantage at the break. Ronnie Rousseau III scored all nine of his points in less than five minutes as part of a 13-6 burst that helped the Bears cut an 11-point deficit down to four with 8 1/2 minutes to go.
Missouri State's last 3 baskets were 3-pointers, Johnson making it a three-point game with 1:12 to go. But the Bears missed their last five shots and the Purple Aces were 6 of 8 from the line in the last minute, wrapping up a 14 of 20 second half while the Bears were just 2 of 2.
The series is now tied at 34, dating to 1959 when Evansville beat MSU in the championship game of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Tom Eades
- Paul Janssen
- Jeb Hartness
2023-24 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Indiana State | 17-3 | - | 32-7 |
Drake | 16-4 | 1 | 28-7 |
Bradley | 13-7 | 4 | 23-12 |
Belmont | 12-8 | 5 | 20-13 |
Northern Iowa | 12-8 | 5 | 19-14 |
Southern Illinois | 11-9 | 6 | 19-13 |
Illinois State | 9-11 | 8 | 15-17 |
Murray State | 9-11 | 8 | 12-20 |
Missouri State | 8-12 | 9 | 17-16 |
Evansville | 6-14 | 11 | 17-18 |
UIC | 4-16 | 13 | 12-21 |
Valparaiso | 3-17 | 14 | 7-25 |