Sophomore DeAndre Williams had one of the most efficient efforts in University of Evansville history, hitting 17 of his 18 attempts on his way to a 37-point, 10-rebound game in a 101-87 Purple Aces win over Miami Ohio on Saturday at the Ford Center.
Inside the arc, Williams was a perfect 15-for-15. He was credited with three assists and three blocks. His final scoring tally was the top for a UE (7-3) player since Ryan Taylor scored 38 against Norfolk State on Dec. 14, 2016. Williams is the first Ace to hit 15+ field goals since Colt Ryan posted 17 at Creighton on Feb. 21, 2012. By hitting 94.4% of his attempts, Williams became the first UE player to shoot 90% (with at least 10 attempts) since Egidijus Mockevicius went 9-of-10 against Marian on Nov. 17, 2015.
Williams made 15 consecutive field goals in the game and was just one short of the NCAA record of 16, which was set by Doug Grayson of Kent State. He accomplished the feat on Dec. 6, 1967 against North Carolina.
“I was just making shots tonight, that is all that was. My teammates were hitting me with great passes,” Williams said. “When I come into the game, I do not come into the game thinking I am going to score; I come into the game ready to make a play for my teammates. I want to get boards, block shots and play defense; when I do that, the points come within that.”
As a team, the Purple Aces shot 64.2%, the highest in head coach Walter McCarty’s tenure at UE. The final tally of 101 points was the first time the Aces scored 100+ in regulation against a Division I team since Nov. 20, 2013 when the Aces defeated Valparaiso, 100-92, at the Ford Center. Over the last two games, Evansville has combined to hit 56.5% of its field goal tries and 51.9% of its 3-point attempts.
“We have so many weapons and it will be different guys each night; we have to take what defenses give us and not try to force it because we have guys who can put it in the basket,” McCarty exclaimed. “When we play the right way and run our sets, we are pretty tough to guard. Our main focus has to be getting stops on the other end; our offense is in a good spot right now. We need to keep trusting and making plays for each other.”
On top of the shooting numbers, the Aces have been racking up the assists, posting 22 assists on 34 makes against the RedHawks (4-5). Over the last two games, UE has had 47 helpers on 64 makes.
“When we are being unselfish, everybody gets shots and it is hard to guard with all of our actions,” Williams added. “When we are moving the ball like that, making the extra pass, passing up our shots to get our teammates shots, it is beautiful.”
DeAndre Williams had the opening two UE baskets to give his team an early 4-2 lead before the RedHawks went up 8-5 on a pair of 3-pointers. A first half that featured 12 lead changes continued to go back and forth. John Hall knocked down his first 3-pointer to put the Aces up 16-14 at the 12:25 mark before Miami scored seven of the next eight points to open up their largest lead at 21-17.
Evansville’s biggest run of the half saw them score the next nine on their way to a 26-21 advantage. Marcus Henderson and Hall each posted triples in the stretch. UE’s lead reached as many as six points when Hall’s third long ball of the half made it a 38-32 game inside of the 6-minute mark. The RedHawks fought back to tie it at 42-42 before an Artur Labinowicz trey put the lead back in Evansville’s hands. Over the final 1:26 of the period, MU went back in front and led by a 47-45 score at the half. Williams was 8-of-9 from the floor in the half on his way to 16 points.
After Miami scored the first bucket of the second half, Williams was true from outside to cut the deficit back to one. At the 17:55 mark, another Williams basket tied the score at 51-51 and on the next Aces possession, Artur Labinowicz connected on two free throws that put Evansville in front. UE would never give up the lead from that point, a span of 17:15. Sam Cunliffe added a pair of free throws that saw the lead go up to four, but the RedHawks got back within a point on two occasions.
Up 57-56, the Aces scored 12 of the next 16 points to take their largest lead at 69-60 with just over 11 minutes on the clock. Miami made a quick 5-0 rally, but an and-one by Williams would prove to be the turning point. The RedHawks would never get that close over the final eight minutes as the UE lead grew to as many as 14 points, which was the final of 101-87.
Cunliffe had a strong 21-point game, he had three triples and six free throws. John Hall had one of his best games of the season, going 5-for-7 from the floor while hitting four triples on his way to 14 points while Labinowicz finished with 10.
“I was just being more aggressive and getting back to what I did last year,” Hall said. “Just getting back to doing what I do, playing for my teammates and not being selfish.”
Miami was led by Nike Sibande, who had 28 points and 7 rebounds. He was 9-for-10 from the line. Dae Dae Grant had 13 while Evansville native Mekhi Lairy recorded 11.
Evansville finished with a 36-20 rebounding advantage. It tied for the largest advantage in the Coach McCarty era; UE outrebounded Albion last season by a 50-34 mark. UE shot 64.2% for the game, including an unreal 18-of-27 (66.7%) in the final 20 minutes. Miami checked in at 52.4%. The Aces had 22 assists with Shamar Givance posting a game-high of five; it was also his season high. Givance scored eight points with six coming from the line.
A 2-game road trip is on tap for the Aces next weekend. On Saturday, UE visits Green Bay for a 6 p.m. game before traveling to Jacksonville State on Monday, Dec. 16 for a 7:30 p.m. match-up.
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