Purple Aces remain winless in MVC after No. 22 Loyola deals another blowout loss
EVANSVILLE — Recent struggles are beginning to snowball for the Evansville Purple Aces despite otherwise top-to-bottom parity throughout the Missouri Valley Conference.
Freshly No. 22-ranked Loyola remains perfect in conference play, but it had trailed by double figures in its previous three games before Tuesday’s showdown with Aces. UE even took an early six-point lead, appearing as if it would give Loyola another competitive fight.
And, well, the Ramblers proved why they’re nationally ranked with a 77-48 victory while the Aces have suffered back-to-back blowouts by an average of 30.5 points.
It marked the Aces' largest home loss since the 2013-14 season.
“We weren’t close the last two games, but they count the same,” UE coach Todd Lickliter said. “We’ve played some good basketball, but we haven’t been able to do it consistently. And let’s face it (Loyola) is half a dozen years down the road from struggling. They struggled, too. When you’re trying to develop and build, you’re likely to struggle some. It’s how you handle that and what you do with it."
UE men's basketball: UE lost by 32 in its previous game against Bradley
The Aces (4-12, 0-5 MVC) started hot, taking a 13-8 lead by the first media timeout. They made their first five shots, including three 3-pointers. But after scoring those 13 points in four minutes, they mustered just 11 the rest of the first half.
Then they were outscored by 23 in the second half.
“We just can’t put together 40 minutes right now,” senior Noah Frederking said. “We played some good ball in the first half and in spurts in the second half, but you’re not going to win at any level – especially the way teams play in the Valley – if you’re not doing what you need to do for 40 minutes.”
Jawaun Newton led the Aces with 13 points while Shamar Givance had 12 and Frederking added 11 on 4-for-4 shooting to snap out of a slump. Yet, the bench was outscored 35-6 as the backcourt of Newton and Givance continues to account for more than half of the team’s offense.
“Everyone needs to look at themselves in the mirror,” Frederking said. “If we can get a collective effort and not just three guys on one night... that’s the problem is we haven’t had five or six guys play well on one night yet.”
It was the third MVC game the Aces have trailed by at least 20 points and the sixth of the season. They’d mostly only struggled away from Ford Center, though. The first two home MVC contests had been decided by three total points.
Then again, the Aces hadn’t been facing nationally ranked teams. The Ramblers (14-2, 5-0 MVC) have won 10 in a row and their only losses came against Michigan State and Auburn.
Loyola shot 63% overall and 59% on 3-pointers, finishing with 10 makes from deep. They also made more free throws (13) than UE attempted (nine) and had 12 players score.
“They’re a very poised team throughout possessions, so you can defend really hard and well for the majority (of the shot clock) and they’ll stay steady before making you pay at the end. That can be deflating.”
The Aces hadn’t played a Top 25-ranked opponent since they upset No. 1 Kentucky three years ago. They also had not hosted a ranked team since Jan. 31, 2016, when a crowd of 10,034 saw No. 22 Wichita State.
Tuesday’s announced attendance only was 3,190, which is three people short of the season average – the lowest since the program moved to Division I in 1977. UE last averaged fewer fans in 1956-57 for the first year at Roberts Stadium.
Reality is bleak currently.
“I told the guys not to give in to feeling sorry for ourselves or making excuses,” Lickliter said. “This was a tough night and (Loyola) played well. If they play well, you have to play great to compete with them. We played some good basketball, but not nearly enough, obviously.”
This will be a busy week considering they haven’t had much of a routine since early December. UE will travel to Illinois State for a 6 p.m. Friday contest before both teams head back to Evansville for Sunday’s 1 p.m. rematch at Ford Center.
Those games were rescheduled because the Redbirds (9-8, 2-2 MVC) had a COVID pause. UE and ISU split a back-to-back last season at Ford Center as the Aces notched their only victory in the last 13 meetings.
UE needs a spark to avoid another historically bad MVC campaign. The Aces went 0-18 two seasons ago, which was the only time they’ve won fewer than three games since joining in 1994. They also started 1-10 in 2016-17 before eventually finishing 6-12
“The Valley is just a tough lead to be trying to develop in,” Lickliter said. “But that’s where we’re at. We’ll see. Each team presents different problems for you.”
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: College basketball: No. 22 Loyola blows out Evansville Purple Aces
