EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Dru Smith scored 15 points, Ryan Taylor added 13 and Evansville turned back Missouri State 64-55 on Wednesday night.
K.J. Riley had 11 points for the Purple Aces (12-6, 2/3 Missouri Valley Conference) and Dainiu Chatkevicius had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Alize Johnson led the Bears (13-5, 3-2) with 16 points and 14 rebounds and Jarrid Rhodes and Reggie Scurry had 10 points each.
Evansville scored the first six points and led wire-to-wire. The Purple Aces led by as many as 11 points in the first half before settling for a 31-24 advantage at the break.