Evansville’s men’s basketball team was doing little more than playing out the string.
The Purple Aces were on a nine-game losing streak, solidly in 10th place in the 10-team Missouri Valley Conference standings.
Then Missouri State came to town.
The Purple Aces won for the first time since New Year’s Day, leading virtually from start to finish in a 74-66 victory Saturday afternoon in Evansville, Indiana.
“We were OK, but we didn’t seem to have that sense of urgency that we’ve had,” Bears coach Paul Lusk said on his postgame radio show. “We got beat, that’s it.