Evansville celebrates ceremony with 77-73 victory

EVANSVILLE, Ohio -- Ryan Taylor scored 25 points, including a big basket in the final minute, and Evansville defeated Drake 77-73 on a Saturday in which the Purple Aces retired eight jerseys.

Taylor made three 3-pointers and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. His midrange jumper blunted a Drake surge and led to a 5-0 spurt and a 75-67 lead with 12 seconds remaining.

Noah Frederking added 16 points and Blake Simmons 14 for Evansville (14-9, 4-6 Missouri Valley), which shot 50 percent and made 7 of 12 from the arc and 22 of 25 free throws.

Drake (12-11, 6-4) scored the first five points before Evansville went up for good after a 24-3 run.

De'Antae McMurray led the Bulldogs with 13 points.

At halftime, Evansville honored former players Hugh Ahlering, Brad Leaf, Marty Simmons, Scott Shreffler, Andy Elkins and Marcus Wilson and former coaches Arad McCutchan and Jim Crews.