The Skyhawk men used a 32-6 run to build a comfortable second-half lead and held off a late Evansville rally to claim a road win in the Bracket Buster game by a score of 69-62.

Jeremy Kelly scored a game-high 27 points for the Skyhawks, while Jared Newson poured in 22. The non-conference win evened the team’s overall record at 13-13.

Most of the first half belonged to the Purple Aces, who held a 32-23 lead over the Skyhawks late in the half. The Skyhawks closed the half by outscoring the Purple Aces, 16-2, to go into halftime with a 39-34 advantage.

The Skyhawks continued to dominate the game in the second half. Their five-point halftime lead doubled in the first six minutes of the half. They benefited from Evansville’s inability to make shots while connecting on their end of the floor.

Kelly led the way, but several different Skyhawks contributed to the run. Five Skyhawk players scored during a 14-2 run that opened the half.

The lead peaked at 55-38, but the Purple Aces would not go away easily. They gradually chipped away at the Skyhawk lead, setting up the game’s final two minutes.

Led by two freshmen, Jason Holsinger and Shy Ely, they cut the Skyhawk lead in half in the final two minutes of the game. What once was a 13-point lead with 2:14 remaining in the game was reduced to 64-58 with 1:04 remaining.

After a free throw by Holsinger made it a five-point game, the Skyhawks were able to beat Evansville’s defense twice in a row, resulting in a free throw and a dunk. Those possessions closed the door on the Purple Aces and punctuated the Skyhawks’ first win in the series in nine tries.

The Skyhawks won despite shooting 35 percent from the floor in the second half and only 42 percent from the free throw line. The team missed 8-of-10 free throws over the final 1:30 of the game.

The Skyhawks overcame their own shooting problems by giving the Purple Aces difficulties of their own.

Evansville shot a mere 25 percent from the floor in the second half, including a frigid 15 percent from three-point range.

The win was the Skyhawks’ sixth in their last seven games. The Skyhawks currently sit alone in eighth place in the OVC standings, one-half game behind seventh-place Tennessee State. They will close out the regular season with a visit to Murray to take on the first-place Racers on Saturday.

The team could finish as high as a fourth-place tie in the conference and is guaranteed to finish no worse than eighth, good enough for a spot in the OVC Tournament.