Boxscore
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The University of Evansville's 10th consecutive homecourt victory took longer than usual, but the streak continued here Wednesday thanks to a 66-61 overtime victory against Missouri State. The Aces are now 11-3 overall and 3-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears are 7-8 and 0-4.
Two key plays in the final 20 seconds secured UE's win. The first came when Jason Holsinger deflected a Missouri State pass that teammate Kavon Lacey picked up and immediately drew a foul. Lacey hit his first free throw with 18 seconds remaining to give Evansville a 63-61 lead. He missed the second, but sophomore center Pieter van Tongeren grabbed the offensive rebound and put it back in to give the Aces an insurmountable 65-61 lead.
The 11-3 Aces are off to their best start since 1999-00, and at 3-1 in the MVC, Evansville has already matched last season's win total in league games. The Aces were 3-15 in the MVC a year ago, in Marty Simmons' first year as head coach.
No one was happier with the outcome than van Tongeren, who played only 13 minutes, and only the final 40 seconds in the overtime period.
"I didn't play much in the second half, and I just wanted to make sure I was ready if I got the opportunity," van Tongeren said. "You always want to assume there will be a rebound on a free throw, and in this case, the ball just came my way and I was able to throw it back in."
Missed free throws hurt Evansville all night. UE hit only 19 of 34 at the line while the Bears converted on 17 of 23. But the Aces shot 47 percent from the field (22-47) while holding Missouri State to 35 percent shooting (19-55). Holsinger led all scorers with 19 points, including two three-pointers that gave him a school record 251 in his career. Center Will Creekmore led the Bears with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Fuehrmeyer added 11 points and Shane Laurie had 10.
