(Evansville, IN) – Evansville is playing for a postseason basketball championship. Their dominating offensive display buried a good UT-Martin team 79-66 and the Purple Aces now host Northern Arizona in the College Insider.com Tournament championship game on Thursday.
Evansville was superior athletically and ran their motion offense with great precision. A 9-0 run late in the first half opened a 46-34 half time lead, and then Marty Simmons’ team scored the first 12 points of the second stanza to blow the game open.
UTM finishes the season with a record of 21-13 and their first Division 1 postseason experience. They went 3-1 in the CIT.
Evansville (23-12) shot 57.1 % for the game and handed out an outstanding 23 assists. Head Coach Marty Simmons said his team is continuing to grow with these late season games.
D. J. Balentine led the way with 28 points, but teammates Adam Wing and Blake Simmons did their part. Simmons set a career high with seven assists while scoring 13 points. Wing added 16 points.
Balentine said the Purple Aces are growing in confidence and working hard in practice.
MVC comrade Loyola (23-13) won the opening game of the best-of-three championship series of the College Basketball Invitational, and plays at Louisiana-Monroe tonight, giving the Missouri Valley Conference a legitimate shot at two postseason titles.
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ICYMI: Semifinal # 2 today at #ArchMadness will feature a contrast of styles as # 5 @UIC_MBB faces # 4 @RacersHoops in the 2:30 game.
It's final: @UNImbb 68 @UEAthletics_MBB 59. The Panthers get @Redbird_MBB on Friday night. Campbell finishes with 23 points. Smith with a double-double. AJ Casey was great with 23 & 10. Panthers with 16 assists.
4:05 left: @UNImbb 57 @UEAthletics_MBB 54. Aces' ball. UNI upside? Campbell with 21 points. Down side - Bond 0/6 from deep. UE upside? Casey with 20 & 9. Down Side? 2/11 from deep in the second half. Anybody's game at #ArchMadness
7:25 left: @UNImbb 55 @UEAthletics_MBB 52. Trey Campbell with 21 points for the Panthers and AJ Casey with 18 for the Aces. Tristan Smith is such a game changer. He has 8 pts & 9 rebounds, but that doesn't tell the story. #ArchMadness
