Colt Ryan's 20 points led Evansville to a 68-45 victory over Western Illinois on Saturday night.
Ryan also had team-high totals of eight assists, six rebounds and four steals as the Purple Aces (14-13) won the BracketBusters game. Denver Holmes added 15 points.
Ceola Clark led the Leathernecks (14-12) with 11 points, and Terell Parks grabbed 12 rebounds. Western Illinois has lost four of its last five.
Evansville, which won its second straight, committed 10 turnovers but forced 23.
With the game tied 5-5, Evansville reeled off 10 consecutive points, including two 3-pointers by Ned Cox. That put the Aces up 15-5 with 9:41 left in the first half, and Western Illinois did not threaten again.
Evansville, of the Missouri Valley Conference, led 26-14 at intermission. The Summit League's Leathernecks got within seven early in the second half before fading.
