Missouri State Bears at Evansville Purple Aces
· NCAA Men's Basketball
55 - 64
Smith, Taylor help Evansville edge Missouri St 64-55
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.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 55 - 63 |
| 2nd 0:03 | Dru Smith Defensive Rebound. | 55 - 64 |
| 2nd 0:03 | J.T. Miller missed Three Point Jumper. | 55 - 64 |
| 2nd 0:05 | Dru Smith made Free Throw. | 55 - 64 |
| 2nd 0:05 | Dru Smith made Free Throw. | 55 - 63 |
Statistics
 MOST |
 EVAN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 21-58 | FG | 22-48 |
| 36 | Field Goal % | 46 |
| 7-22 | 3PT | 4-11 |
| 32 | Three Point % | 36 |
| 6-7 | FT | 16-23 |
| 86 | Free Throw % | 70 |
| 31 | Rebounds | 38 |
| 9 | Offensive Rebounds | 9 |
| 22 | Defensive Rebounds | 29 |
| 13 | Assists | 10 |
| 7 | Steals | 6 |
| 3 | Blocks | 3 |
| 13 | Turnovers | 14 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 13 | Total Turnovers | 14 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 7 | Points Off Turnovers | 11 |
| 4 | Fast Break Points | 2 |
| 28 | Points in Paint | 24 |
| 21 | Fouls | 12 |
| 0 | Largest Lead | 11 |
Game Information
Location: Evansville, IN
Attendance: 3,237 | Capacity:
2025-26 Conference USA Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 17-3 | - | 26-8 |
| Sam Houston | 13-7 | 4 | 22-12 |
| Louisiana Tech | 11-9 | 6 | 20-14 |
| Western Kentucky | 11-9 | 6 | 18-14 |
| Middle Tennessee | 11-9 | 6 | 17-15 |
| Kennesaw State | 10-10 | 7 | 21-14 |
| Jacksonville State | 10-10 | 7 | 15-17 |
| New Mexico State | 8-12 | 9 | 16-16 |
| Missouri State | 8-12 | 9 | 16-18 |
| Florida International | 8-12 | 9 | 15-17 |
| UTEP | 7-13 | 8 | 11-20 |
| Delaware | 6-14 | 11 | 10-21 |
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 |