The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
7-2
Evansville
3-5
Ole Miss Downs Evansville, 87-69
12/23/2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec 23, 2002
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - All Justin Reed needed was one good eye to find the basket Monday night.
Reed and teammate Emmanuel Wade each scored 17 points as the Rebels defeated Evansville 87-69.
It was Reed's first game back since suffering an eye injury that required six stitches. The forward, wearing goggles to protect his right eye, was 7-of-10 from the field and made a pair of three-point shots.
"My eye is better, but I definitely noticed the goggles," Reed said. "I kept trying to push them up, but it wasn't a distraction. It was good to get back out on the floor and win this game."
Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes praised Reed for his ability to overcome the injury.
"Obviously, when he is on the floor, it makes a difference to this team," Barnes said.
Wade, the club's sixth man, recorded his season high in points and added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
"My role is to come off the bench and I feel like the team needs me to do what I did tonight, especially if we're going to get more wins down the road," Wade said.
In defeating the Purple Aces (3-5), Ole Miss extended its home court winning streak to 18. The Rebels (7-2) have won 57 of the last 58 home games against non-conference competition.
The Rebels had six players in double figures. Aaron Harper and David Sanders added 13 points apiece while Justin Johnson and Derrick Allen had 11 and 10, respectively.
Evansville got a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds from Clint Cuffle and 10 points from Dan Lytle.
"Evansville is a dangerous team and this was a win we really needed," Barnes said. "Cuffle is an outstanding player and I wasn't surprised by anything he did tonight. I thought we showed more intensity and we needed it."
Ole Miss shot a season-best 59 percent from the field and 54 percent from three-point range. The Rebels outrebounded Evansville 25-20.
Evansville shot 24-of-45 from the field, including 13-of-20 in the second half. The Aces also hit 9-of-14 from three-point range, including 5-of-6 by Cuffle.
The Purple Aces were plagued by nine turnovers and never got closer than eight points in the second half.
