EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Evansville’s Denver Holmes banked in a 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to lift the Purple Aces to a 63-62 win over the University of Northern Iowa on Wednesday in the Ford Center.
UNI (17-11 overall, 7-9 MVC) rallied from a 49-39 second-half deficit with a 13-0 run to take a 52-49 lead with 8:12 left in the game.
“We came up with some stops in that run,” UNI head coach Ben Jacobson said. “We rebounded better and offensively we found some stuff that was working. We were driving and getting to the basket. I felt like we had a sense of urgency in the second half.”
Evansville (13-13 overall, 8-8 MVC) got 20 points from Colt Ryan and 14 from Holmes to sweep the season series from the Panthers.
The Purple Aces trailed 59-56 following a jumper from Anthony James with 2:32 left in the game. Holmes was able to give the Purple Aces a 60-59 lead with 18 seconds left when he drilled a 3-pointer.
But UNI’s Johnny Moran answered right back with a 3-pointer from the right wing with 8.6 seconds to give the Panthers a 62-60 lead. After a timeout, Holmes was able to bank in the 3-pointer from the top of the key to win the game.
UNI will travel to Richmond, Va., to take on the VCU Rams on Friday at 7 p.m. (Eastern). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2/ESPN3.
NOTES: UNI was led in scoring by freshman Seth Tuttle with 16 points … Anthony James (13 pts) and Chip Rank (10 pts) contributed off the bench … UNI outrebounded the Purple Aces, 31-26.
