Purple Aces can't complete comeback, lose MVC opener to Southern Illinois at the buzzer
EVANSVILLE — If the Evansville Purple Aces hadn’t dug themselves into such a deep hole, they’d be sitting atop the Missouri Valley Conference for the rest of the month.
Perhaps that would have washed away a disappointing November. It would've at least made up for a crummy start to Wednesday night.
Yet, they simply couldn’t overcome a 17-point deficit in a rare, one-off conference opener. They allowed Southern Illinois to score the game’s first 13 points while the Aces only had 17 by halftime.
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A valiant comeback fell short even though they rode another career performance from senior point guard Shamar Givance, who tied it within the final minute. SIU, however, had the last shot, and all-conference guard Marcus Domask sank a game-winning bank-shot with 0.6 seconds remaining.
Givance’s heave at the horn was off the mark. The Salukis escaped with a 54-52 win.
“It’s not over until it’s over,” UE coach Todd Lickliter said. “It’s a good lesson. There’s no reason to give in before time expires.”
Givance scored a career-high for the second straight game. He one-upped his 26 points on Sunday with a 31-point outing Wednesday. He shot 11-for-16 from the floor and made seven free throws as the only UE player in double figures.
Following the Aces’ fourth loss in a row last week, Givance told me in a postgame interview he needed to play better for this team to find success. He was already averaging double-digit points, but he’s found another level.
“In Florida, I did a lot of talking with my teammates and coaches to figure out what’s been challenging for me and what I can learn by watching film,” Givance said. “I had to change my mentality that I had to be better as a leader on this team.”
Givance said he simply had the hot hand and that his teammates have continued to encourage him. He is now averaging 15 points while scoring at all three levels. Lickliter would prefer Givance and Newton shoot jumpers more than they drive, though.
“They’re great at it, but I want them to mix it up a little bit,” Lickliter said. “They’re very good shooters and it will relieve some pressure. In the first half, we went side to side way too much and didn’t cut to the basket. Then Shamar and Jawaun have to try to create things and it’s exhausting.”
Newton was the second-leading scorer with eight points, all of which came after halftime. Domask led SIU with 22 points. The Salukis never trailed and nearly doubled up the Aces in the paint, 34-18.
UE (3-7, 0-1 MVC) needs to find a better rhythm at the start. It only made five shots in the first half, and it’s been limited to single-digit field goals during the first half in six of 10 games. Their 17 first-half points Wednesday were the fewest since they only had 14 at Belmont.
“We shot ourselves in the foot with our first half,” senior Iyen Enaruna said. “They’re a really good team, but we’ve shown we can play with everybody. We have to learn from this and try to stay positive. It’s definitely a tough loss.”
Still, the Aces adjusted and ultimately shot 45 percent overall. They played more zone defense and increased their pressure, in addition to Givance catching fire. There was a stretch in which he scored 17 of the Aces’ 19 points.
“Maybe if we start in that (defense), that really helps our guys,” Lickliter said. “You can always second guess. We had the ball a couple of times with chances to take the lead or tie it and we couldn’t quite get there.
“You don’t get anything from winning a half ... but our guys showed an awful lot of character and a lot of heart.”
SIU (4-3, 1-0 MVC) was without its best player, Lance Jones, who averages 18.8 points and is third in the MVC in scoring. It also was without junior guards Ben Harvey and Trent Brown. Meanwhile, Trey Hall and Troy Boynton were on UE’s bench in team sweatsuits and still have not played. Emmette Page (coach’s decision) did not see the court, either.
Evan Kuhlman returned to the Aces starting lineup – they used their sixth rotation in 10 games – but he was limited to just 14 minutes.
They will remain home for another game on Saturday against Tennessee Tech (2-5) as non-conference play resumes for the rest of the month. It starts a stretch of three straight games against Ohio Valley Conference foes.
KenPom’s projections say the Aces will be favored to win all three.
Perhaps they will find a way to break through in December. If Wednesday night was a litmus test, they proved they’re going to be a tough opponent — they just aren’t quite able to get over the hump yet.
“We have to make it our emphasis to come out the way we did in the second half today right when the game starts,” Enaruna said.
Givance added: “We have to get the momentum first instead of reacting.
Chad Lindskog is the sports editor of the Courier & Press. You can contact him by email, clindskog@gannett.com, or on Twitter: @chadlindskog.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville's comeback falls short in MVC loss to Southern Illinois
