Recap: Evansville vs. Yale

Evansville, IN (Sports Network) - D.J. Balentine scored 16 points off the bench to lead the Evansville Purple Aces to a 66-56 victory over the Yale Bulldogs, in a non-conference matchup at the Ford Center.

For the Purple Aces (1-2), Jordan Jahr added 12 points while Ryan Sawvell and Lewis Jones each chipped in 10 points. Troy Taylor made his mark by dishing out six assists and recording a game-high four steals.

Justin Sears paced the Bulldogs (0-3) with game-highs of 15 points and seven rebounds. Austin Morgan finished with 13 points as Yale lost its third in a row to begin the season.

Both sides performed almost identically on the offensive end in the first half. Yale hit on 46.2 percent from the field and Evansville netted 44.4 percent of its first half field goal attempts. A 6-5 advantage in free-throw line scoring gave the Purple Aces a slim 32-31 lead at the break.

Evansville shot better after intermission, connecting on 50 percent of its attempts from the floor, while Yale converted only 42.9 percent of its field goal attempts. After the Bulldogs took a 54-53 lead with under eight minutes to play, the Purple Aces finished the contest on a 22-3 run to put away the visitors.

Evansville forced 19 turnovers which it converted into 23 points. Despite the loss, Bulldogs held a 35-22 advantage in the rebounding battle.