# 2013–14 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team

The 2013–14 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by seventh year head coach Marty Simmons, played their home games at the Ford Center and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 14–19, 6–12 in MVC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley tournament where they lost to Wichita State.

## Roster

| Number | Name | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown |
| 0 | Ryan Sawvell | Forward/Center | 6–8 | 200 | Junior | Mundelein, Illinois |
| 2 | Christian Benzon | Guard | 6–4 | 195 | Freshman | Gainesville, Florida |
| 3 | Jaylon Brown | Guard | 6–0 | 185 | Freshman | Fishers, Indiana |
| 4 | Duane Gibson | Guard | 6–3 | 195 | Freshman | Cleveland, Ohio |
| 5 | Mislav Brzoja | Guard | 6–4 | 205 | Sophomore | Zagreb, Croatia |
| 10 | Jaylon Moore | Forward/Center | 6–7 | 230 | Junior | Olive Branch, Mississippi |
| 12 | Adam Wing | Guard | 6–4 | 205 | Sophomore | Morehead, Kentucky |
| 22 | Tyler Ptacek | Guard | 6–3 | 175 | Freshman | Parma, Ohio |
| 23 | Mike Leazer | Guard | 6–3 | 170 | Sophomore | Mount Prospect, Illinois |
| 25 | Rokas Cesnulevicius | Forward/Center | 6–8 | 215 | Junior | Alytus, Lithuania |
| 31 | D.J. Balentine | Guard | 6–2 | 210 | Sophomore | Kokomo, Indiana |
| 44 | David Howard | Forward | 6–8 | 225 | RS–Freshman | Nashville, Tennessee |
| 50 | Blake Simmons | Guard/Forward | 6–5 | 210 | Freshman | Newburgh, Indiana |
| 55 | Egidijus Mockevičius | Center | 6–10 | 225 | Sophomore | Vilnius, Lithuania |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 10/26/2013* 7:00 pm | Trevecca Nazarene | W 83–40 | | Ford Center (2,865) Evansville, IN |
| 11/02/2013* 4:00 pm | Illinois–Springfield | W 82–74 | | Ford Center (3,534) Evansville, IN |
| Regular season |||||
| 11/09/2013* 7:00 pm | Martin Methodist | W 87–69 | 1–0 | Ford Center (3,874) Evansville, IN |
| 11/12/2013* 7:00 pm | at IUPUI | W 84–78 | 2–0 | IUPUI Gymnasium (1,215) Indianapolis, IN |
| 11/18/2013* 7:00 pm | Mercer | W 89–76 | 3–0 | Ford Center (3,607) Evansville, IN |
| 11/20/2013* 8:00 pm | Valparaiso | W 100–92 | 4–0 | Ford Center (4,018) Evansville, IN |
| 11/23/2013* 7:00 pm | Anderson | W 91–68 | 5–0 | Ford Center (4,131) Evansville, IN |
| 11/26/2013* 8:00 pm, BTN | at Indiana | L 46–77 | 5–1 | Assembly Hall (16,255) Bloomington, IN |
| 11/30/2013* 2:00 pm | at Ohio | L 59–81 | 5–2 | Convocation Center (4,637) Athens, OH |
| 12/04/2013* 7:00 pm | at Murray State | L 63–65 | 5–3 | CFSB Center (2,474) Murray, KY |
| 12/07/2013* 1:00 pm | Miami (OH) | W 78–65 | 6–3 | Ford Center (3,305) Evansville, IN |
| 12/10/2013* 7:00 pm, FS1 | at Xavier | L 60–63 | 6–4 | Cintas Center (9,086) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/14/2013* 2:00 pm | Jackson State | L 51–57 | 6–5 | Ford Center (4,097) Evansville, IN |
| 12/21/2013* 2:00 pm | Butler | L 59–68 | 6–6 | Ford Center (7,035) Evansville, IN |
| 12/28/2013* 1:00 pm | Grambling State | W 96-61 | 7-6 | Ford Center (3,712) Evansville, IN |
| 01/01/2014 7:00 pm | at Drake | L 66–94 | 7–7 (0–1) | Knapp Center (3,071) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/04/2014 7:00 pm, ESPNU | Indiana State | L 62–81 | 7–8 (0–2) | Ford Center (4,937) Evansville, IN |
| 01/08/2014 7:00 pm | Northern Iowa | L 53–80 | 7–9 (0–3) | Ford Center (3,222) Evansville, IN |
| 01/11/2014 3:00 pm | at Southern Illinois | W 75–69 | 8–9 (1–3) | SIU Arena (4,763) Carbondale, IL |
| 01/15/2014 7:00 pm | at Illinois State | L 78–79 $^{OT}$ | 8–10 (1–4) | Redbird Arena (4,375) Normal, IL |
| 01/18/2014 1:00 pm | Loyola–Chicago | W 53–48 | 9–10 (2–4) | Ford Center (4,310) Evansville, IN |
| 01/21/2014 7:00 pm | at Missouri State | L 61–64 | 9–11 (2–5) | JQH Arena (4,752) Springfield, MO |
| 01/26/2014 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | Bradley | W 66–60 | 10–11 (3–5) | Ford Center (5,889) Evansville, IN |
| 01/29/2014 7:00 pm | at Northern Iowa | L 81–95 | 10–12 (3–6) | McLeod Center (3,670) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 02/01/2014 2:00 pm, ESPNU | at No. 4 Wichita State | L 67–81 | 10–13 (3–7) | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 02/05/2014 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Missouri State | L 54–66 | 10–14 (3–8) | Ford Center (3,463) Evansville, IN |
| 02/09/2014 4:00 pm | at Bradley | L 66–83 | 10–15 (3–9) | Carver Arena (6,732) Peoria, IL |
| 02/12/2014 7:00 pm | Illinois State | W 104–98 $^{OT}$ | 11–15 (4–9) | Ford Center (3,151) Evansville, IN |
| 02/16/2014 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 4 Wichita State | L 68–84 | 11–16 (4–10) | Ford Center (8,802) Evansville, IN |
| 02/19/2014 7:00 pm | at Indiana State | L 54–59 | 11–17 (4–11) | Hulman Center (5,778) Terre Haute, IN |
| 02/22/2014 7:00 pm | Southern Illinois | L 56–61 | 11–18 (4–12) | Ford Center (6,243) Evansville, IN |
| 02/25/2014 7:00 pm | Drake | W 61–48 | 12–18 (5–12) | Ford Center (3,483) Evansville, IN |
| 03/01/2014 3:00 pm | at Loyola–Chicago | W 75–72 | 13–18 (6–12) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,382) Chicago, IL |
| 2014 Missouri Valley tournament |||||
| 03/06/2014 7:05 pm, MVC TV | vs. Drake First round | W 69–61 | 14–18 | Scottrade Center (5,601) St. Louis, MO |
| 03/07/2014 1:05 pm, MVC TV | vs. No. 2 Wichita State Quarterfinals | L 58–80 | 14–19 | Scottrade Center (10,260) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||