Evansville Falls In CBI Second Round 75-69 At Boise State

There will be no “one last game” at the famed Roberts Stadium for the Evansville Purple Aces. Last night the Aces traveled out west to Boise State to take on the Broncos in a second round College Basketball Invitational game. The hosts came out on top 75-69, sending Evansville home for the season.

Ned Cox had 17 points off the bench while Kenny Harris had 16, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Ryan Wilkins and the Broncos. Denver Holmes also added 13 for Evansville and Colt Ryan 10.

Boise, ID (Sports Network) – Ryan Watkins scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Boise State Broncos to a 75-69 victory over the Evansville Purple Aces in the quarterfinals of the CBI Tournament at Taco Bell Arena.

Daequon Montreal added 14 points for Boise State (22-12), which will now battle the UCF Knights in the semifinals. La’Shard Anderson added 11 points and six assists in the win, while Westly Perryman tallied 10 points.

Ned Cox registered 17 points for Evansville (16-16), while Kenny Harris tallied 16 points. Denver Holmes finished with 13 points, while Colt Ryan chipped in 10 points in the loss.

Boise State went into the break with a 30-23 lead after holding Evansville to a woeful 23.5 percent shooting effort from the floor.

In the second stanza the Broncos shot 55.0 percent from the field, en route to the win.

Boise State made 27-of-32 shots foul line and finished with a 51.2 percent shooting effort.

Valparaiso's first visit to the postseason in seven years was a short one, as the the Crusaders fell 85-77 to the Iona Gaels Wednesday night at home in the opening round of the Collegeinsider.com Invitational Tournament. It was the first time Valparaiso reached the postseason since playing in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, which at the time was their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in eight seasons.

Valparaiso fell behind 13-5 in the early minutes and was never able to make a significant charge despite having the home court advantage. As was the problem for most of the season, Valparaiso was hurt by its lack of defense. Five different players for Iona reached doubles figures led by Trinity Fields with 16 points and Michael Glover with 17.

Jay Harris scored a surprising 20 points for Valpo, while Howard Little had 15 points in his final career game. The 20 points was a new career high for Harris, topping 14 he scored in a loss earlier this season at Butler. Leading scorer Brandon Wood did not play for the Crusaders.

The Evansville Purple Aces are making the most out of their second season. The Purple Aces Defeated Hofstra 77-70 Tuesday night in a College Basketball Invitational game played at the University of Southern Indiana. Colt Ryan had a big game with 21 points as Evansville now advances to the CBI quarterfinals to play Boise State. The game will be played at Boise State on Monday, March 21st.

All told, the Purple Aces put four players in double figures to move to 16-15 on the season. Clint Hopf and Ned Cox each had 10 points off the bench, while Jordan Jahr had 12. Charles Jenkins and Mike Moore each had 14 points for the Pride. The victory was Evansville's first in a postseason tournament since the Purple Aces reached the second round of the 1989 NCAA Tournament when they defeated Oregon State 94-90 in the first round.  It was only their third postseason victory all-time.

The Evansville Purple Aces announced they would play in the 2011 College Basketball Invitational, and this morning their opponent is now known. The Purple Aces will host Hofstra Tuesday night, but they will not be playing at Roberts Stadium. Disney on Ice is already scheduled for the arena, so Evansville will take on the Pride at the University of Southern Indiana:

Hofstra is led by All-America candidate Charles Jenkins, a senior guard who comes into Tuesday's game with 2,499 career points, second only in Division I to the 2,501 points of BYU's Jimmer Fredette. Jenkins is the nation's seventh leading scorer this season with a 22.9 average.  In addition to leading Hofstra to a 21-11 record, Jenkins also led the Pride to a 14-4 record in the Colonial Athletic Association.  Hofstra reached the semifinals of the CAA Tournament, losing 77-69 to Old Dominion.  Hofstra's RPI is 86, according to the latest RealTimeRPI ratings.  Evansville is 135.

This is the fourth year for the CBI.  Past champions include Tulsa in 2008, Oregon State in 2009 and Virginia Commonwealth last year. One team from the Missouri Valley Conference has played in the CBI each year, including tournament runnerup Bradley in 2008, Wichita State in 2009 and Indiana State last year.  Here's a look at past participants in the CBI: