EVANSVILLE, Ind.--The Shockers jumped out to lead nearly all of the first half, but could not hold off the Purple Aces in the second as the Shocks' fell on the road, 61-52.

The first half saw both hot and cold stretches for a WSU squad looking to increase their toughness on the road. Both teams shot around the 50 percent mark in the first half. In fact, the Shockers hung closely for the entire game, as they shot nearly 45 percent from the floor to the Purple Aces' 46 percent. WSU also got it done at the free throw line, knocking down 80 percent of its attempts, but Evansville cashed in from the line. With three times more free throw opportunities than the Shockers, the Purple Aces made 20-of-30 from the charity stripe to help clinch the victory.

Senior guard Jason Holsinger led all scorers with 21 points, using a 5-of-6 performance from behind the arc. For the Shockers, sophomore guard J.T. Durley paved the way with 10 points. Senior Ramon Clemente, sophomore Graham Hatch and junior Clevin Hannah each tallied seven points, and sophomore Aaron Ellis led his team on the boards, grabbing six rebounds.

The Shockers got off to an energetic offensive start using a lay up by Clemente and freshman guard Toure' Murry's pick resulted in a quick 4-0 lead. Continuing to be aggressive, Durley drove to the basket for another Shocker lay up and a 10-4 lead.

In the meantime, the Shocks' defense stepped up, just seven minutes into the half, WSU forced five Evansville turnovers. By the end of the half, however, the tides had turned as Evansville had forced 10 Shocker turnovers to its seven.

Nevertheless, Durley took advantage of the Purple Aces' miscues, hitting back-to-back buckets to give his team the first double-digit lead of the evening, 19-8.

Unwilling to let the Shockers run the table, Evansville's offense sprung to life. During a Shocker scoring drought, the Purple Aces took off on a 9-2 run sparked by a long three from Holsinger to close the gap. Fellow senior Shy Ely knocked down a jumper to tie the game for the first time in the half, 21-21. By the end of the half, Holsinger and Ely would combine for 18 of Evansville's 28 points. With less than two minutes remaining in the opening half, Ely's free throws and a long jumper by Kavon Lacey gave the Purple Aces their first lead of the contest, 25-21.

Although the Shocks led nearly the entire first half, Holsinger hit another three with less than five seconds before the break to stretch his team's into halftime, 28-23.

Holsinger kicked off the following half with another three points, this time using a three-point play resulting from a foul on Hannah. Clemente answered by converting a three-point play of his own to bring the Shockers closer, 31-26.

Unfortunately for the Shockers, the Purple Aces again used a Shocker scoring drought to take control of the game. A 9-0 run capped once more by a three from Holsinger, helped Evansville surge ahead, 40-26. Despite shooting a strong 43 percent from the floor, the Shockers struggled to get things going offensively nearing the 12-minute media timeout.

Relentless, Holsinger continued to rain from three-point land to put the Purple Aces up, 44-30. With nearly 11 minutes to play, the senior was a perfect 5-for-5 from behing the arc.

The Shockers played resiliently, five different Shockers chipped in baskets to put points on the board--but the Purple Aces always had an answer. Keeping the Shockers at an arms lenghth, Evansville held onto the lead, 55-45.

Hannah sunk a jumper to bring the deficit to single digits with less than two minutes to play, but they would not get any closer. Despite a buzzer-beating three from Reggie Chamberlain, the Shockers fell, 61-52.

The Shockers are in action next on Tuesday, Feb. 10 when they play host to Missouri State.

-Wichita State-