Shy Ely's 24 points led UE to a thrilling 2-OT victory Saturday.
What A Start! In 2 OTs, Aces Win 71-67
11/1/2008 11:37:40 PM
Boxscore
For a game that doesn't count in the standings, it sure brought a lot of excitement to more than 9,000 fans at Roberts Stadium Saturday night.
The Vectren Community Classic has become one of the most highly attended college basketball exhibition games in the country, and game three in the series between Evansville's two colleges produced an extra 10 minutes for the 9,648 in attendance. In the end, Division I University of Evansville pulled out a 71-67 two-overtime victory over Division II national power University of Southern Indiana. The Aces are now 3-0 in the exhibition series against the Eagles.
Evansville seniors Shy Ely and Jason Holsinger made the difference. They scored the Aces' final 14 points of regulation after USI took an eight point lead with less than seven minutes to play. Then in the two overtimes, the duo scored 10 of Evansville's 14 points to allow Evansville to escape with the four-point win.
"Give USI credit," Ely said. "They're tough, very tough. We were just able to make a couple plays when we really needed to. That was the difference."
The most crucial of those plays came in the final overtime after USI had taken a 65-61 lead with 3:05 to go. Freshman James Haarsma and Holsinger hit back to back shots inside the line to tie the score. After Brandon Russ put the Eagles back on top 67-65 with 1:50 to play, Holsinger hit a three-pointer and Ely ducked inside for another bucket to put the Aces up 70-67. Meanwhile, the defense held USI to six free throws in the final OT, and when Kavon Lacey hit a free throw with 16 seconds to play to increase the margin to four, Evansville had secured the hard-earned victory.
"What a game," said UE coach Marty Simmons. "It's unusual to start the season in a tournament-type atmosphere, but that's good for our guys. Hopefully we can learn from the things we did well and what we didn't do well."
Ely led all scorers with 24, and Holsinger and Darin Granger added 11 points each. Anthony Pimble and Russ scored 15 each for the Eagles, and Kenny Love added 10.
The Aces are back in action next Saturday at Roberts Stadium with their second and final exhibition game, against Earlham College at 7:05 CST.