Nov. 18, 2009

Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind.- For the third time this season, the SIUE Cougars fell behind and couldn't dig out of an early hole. The Evansville Purple Aces went ahead 20-4 Wednesday night, then cruised to a 76-46 win in front of 3,823 at Roberts Stadium.

The Cougars went without a field goal for the first 6:33 of the game and never could bounce back, shooting 31 percent from the floor (16-52) for the game.

"Today I thought we were taking some good shots. We just weren't knocking them down," SIUE men's basketball Head Coach Lennox Forrester said following the game.

Sophomore Mark Yelovich (Mt. Zion) led the way for SIUE, 0-3. Yelovich scored 11 points and added seven rebounds. Senior Aamir McCleary (Philadelphia, Pa.) was the only other Cougar to score in double figures. McCleary scored 10.

Sophomore James Haarsma paced the Aces. Haarsma poured in a game-high 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Evansville, 2-0, dominated the glass Wednesday night, grabbing 49 rebounds to SIUE's 24. The rebounding edge led to a 42 of Evansville's 76 points coming in the paint.

"Haarsma did a great job rebounding the ball and scoring inside," Forrester said. "They had a ton of points in the paint."

The Cougars continue a two-game Indiana road-swing with a Saturday game at Ball State. Tip time in Muncie is 1 p.m. central time.

-siue cougars-