ST. LOUIS, MO. – Evansville snapped a season-long seven-game losing streak by holding off No. 7 seed Illinois State, 59-53, in the first round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday night at the Enterprise Center.
 
It marked the 10th time a No. 10 seed has advanced to the quarterfinal round with the last time occurring in 2015 by Bradley.
 
Evansville improved to 16-16 on the season, while also snapping a seven- game losing streak in MVC tournament games, dating back to the 2017 quarterfinal round.
 
Despite struggling shooting (4-16) forward Ben Humrichous, MVC scholar athlete of the year, earned his first double-double of the year with 15 points, season-high 11 rebounds. Yacine Toumi had 10 points and eight rebounds. 
 
Illinois State senior Myles Foster finished with a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds. He registered seven points, four offensive rebounds and three blocks in the first 8:48 of action. 
 
Evansville shot a season low 32.2 percent (19-59), but the Purple Aces took care of the ball with season-low tying six turnovers. 
 
After Illinois State had pulled within 53-51 following a basket by Foster, Evansville took advantage of a flagrant one foul by Foster with 37.7 seconds remaining. And the Purple Aces sealed the victory by scoring their last six points at the free throw line. 
 
Illinois State freshman guard Johnny Kinziger finished with 12 points, including 3-of-7 from long range, and a career-high nine rebounds. Kinziger collected 11 points and seven rebounds in the second half. 
 
The Redbirds closed out the season with a 15-18 record.  Illinois State matched a season-high with five blocks, including three by Foster. It marked Illinois State’s fewest points scored in a MVC Tournament game since the Redbirds fell to Loyola Chicago 65-46 on March 4, 2018. 
 
Evansville led the entire game. Clinging to a 13-11 lead, Evansville went on a 9-2 run to enjoy a 22-13 cushion. 
 
Besides Foster’s team-high 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting, the Redbirds were just 2 of 14 from the field. Illinois State was ice cold in the first half, shooting 31.8 percent (7-22). The Redbirds  were just 1-of-12 from 3-point range. After missing its first seven shots beyond the three-point arc, Illinois State’s first 3-pointer came with 1:43 remaining 
 
Trailing 37-27, Illinois State went on a 7-0 run to pull within 37-34 on a second-chance three-point basket by Kinziger with 11:10 left. Humrichous tallied 13 points in the second half for Evansville.