Ned Cox scored a season-high 15 points as Evansville snapped a three-game losing streak with a 67-51 victory over Drake on Wednesday night.
Pieter van Tongeren added 12 points, Colt Ryan 11 and Clint Hopf 10 for the Purple Aces (8-8, 2-4 Missouri Valley). Kenneth Harris pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
Ben Simons scored 11 points and Seth VanDeest 10 for the Bulldogs (7-10, 2-4), who lost their second in a row.
Evansville shot 45.6 percent (26 of 57) to Drake's 34.0 percent (16 of 47). The Bulldogs hit only 15 of 29 free throws and were outrebounded 40-31.
After Drake's opening basket, Evansville never trailed again, building a 14-point lead in the first half at 27-13.
Over a span of 8:39 late in the first half, Drake was limited to five free throws and no baskets until Aaron Hawley scored with 2:58 left to trim the Purple Aces' lead to 29-18. Evansville led 35-24 at halftime.
Drake cut the deficit to 44-40 with 12:49 to play, but the Aces went on a 21-5 run to seal it.
