Evansville finishes strong to beat Valparaiso 64-53

Feb 2, 2019, 04:32 pm

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Marty Hill had 14 points to go with six rebounds as Evansville took control in the second half to beat Valparaiso 64-53 on Saturday afternoon to halt a four-game skid.

Valparaiso led 27-24 going into the break and pushed that to 31-24 to open the second period. A Hill layup tied it at 34-34 with 13:53 remaining and the Purple Aces took the lead after Dainius Chatkevicius split a pair of free throws and Shea Feehan stole the ball and finished with a layup to go ahead 37-34. The Crusaders retook the lead but Evansville went out front for good 52-44 after Hill scored eight unanswered points and Noah Frederking added a trey at the 5:56 mark.

K.J. Riley added 10 points and tied his career high with 12 rebounds. Freshman Shamar Givance chipped in eight points while dishing out five assists for Evansville (10-13, 4-6 Missouri Valley Conference).

Javon Freeman and Markus Golder had 12 points apiece for Valparaiso (12-11, 5-5) which now has lost four straight games.