Evansville Purple Aces at Illinois State Redbirds
· MVC MEN'S TOURNAMENT - QUARTERFINAL
69 - 80
Illinois State sets blocked shot mark in MVC win over Aces
Paris Lee added 13 points with seven assists and DJ Clayton had 12 points for the Redbirds (26-5), who blocked a tournament and school record 14 shots. Hawkins, Phil Fayne and Daouda Ndiaye had four blocks apiece.
The Redbirds face the Loyola-Southern Illinois winner in a semifinal on Saturday.
Illinois State, the top seed, shot 51 percent (27 of 53), had five more 3-pointers and was plus-six at the foul line but didn't put away the Purple Aces (16-17) until they made 7 of 8 free throws in the closing minute.
Jaylon Brown, who had 24 points, scored four points and Christian Benzon had a layup as Evansville quickly cut a 10-point deficit down to 73-69 with less than a minute to play. But the Redbirds made their free throws and the Purple Aces missed their last two shots.
Benzon had 11 points and 10 rebounds and David Howard scored 14 points for Evansville.
How can I watch Evansville vs. Illinois State?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 69 - 80 |
| 2nd 0:05 | Paris Lee made Free Throw. | 69 - 80 |
| 2nd 0:05 | Paris Lee made Free Throw. | 69 - 79 |
| 2nd 0:05 | Foul on Dru Smith. | 69 - 78 |
| 2nd 0:08 | Paris Lee Steal. | 69 - 78 |
Statistics
 EVAN |
 ILST |
|
|---|---|---|
| 27-64 | FG | 27-53 |
| 42 | Field Goal % | 51 |
| 3-11 | 3PT | 8-18 |
| 27 | Three Point % | 44 |
| 12-15 | FT | 18-23 |
| 80 | Free Throw % | 78 |
| 37 | Rebounds | 29 |
| 16 | Offensive Rebounds | 7 |
| 21 | Defensive Rebounds | 22 |
| 13 | Assists | 16 |
| 6 | Steals | 11 |
| 4 | Blocks | 14 |
| 12 | Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 12 | Total Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 15 | Points Off Turnovers | 19 |
| 8 | Fast Break Points | 6 |
| 36 | Points in Paint | 24 |
| 20 | Fouls | 16 |
| 5 | Largest Lead | 14 |
Game Information
Location: St. Louis, MO
Capacity:
2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | 16-4 | - | 26-6 |
| Bradley | 13-7 | 3 | 21-13 |
| Illinois State | 12-8 | 4 | 23-13 |
| Murray State | 12-8 | 4 | 20-13 |
| UIC | 12-8 | 4 | 19-16 |
| Northern Iowa | 11-9 | 5 | 23-13 |
| Valparaiso | 11-9 | 5 | 18-15 |
| Southern Illinois | 10-10 | 6 | 16-16 |
| Drake | 6-14 | 10 | 14-20 |
| Indiana State | 4-16 | 12 | 11-21 |
| Evansville | 3-17 | 13 | 7-25 |