Evansville 87, Norfolk St. 69

Evansville 87, Norfolk St. 69

Published Dec. 23, 2010 10:50 p.m. ET

Colt Ryan scored 28 points Thursday night to lead Evansville past Norfolk State 87-69.

Ryan did most of his damage at the free-throw line, making 19 of 23 for Evansville (6-4). That was better than Norfolk State's entire team, which was 16 of 23 from the foul line.

The Purple Aces, who were 43 of 54 in free throws, were called for 21 fouls compared to 38 for the Spartans. Four of Norfolk State's starters fouled out.

Norfolk State (1-9), which was coming off a 50-49 loss at Virginia, led 36-29 at halftime in this one before the Purple Aces rallied. Ryan gave Evansville the lead for good at 58-55 with a 3-pointer.

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Clint Hopf added a career-high 19 points for the Purple Aces. Rob Hampton had 19 points and Chris McEachin 17 for the Spartans.

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