On Oct. 27 the University of Southern Indiana and the University of Evansville (UE) men’s basketball teams will share the court for the Vectren Community Classic at the Ford Center. Tickets for the general public go on sale Oct. 1
“I’m going on my fourth season with the team, and I’ve been wanting to play them since I got here,” USI guard Lawrence Thomas said. “They’re on the east side and we’re on the west side. Its not just any exhibition game – it’s something important to us.”
The exhibition match will be the fourth meeting between the two teams since 2004, the most recent being in 2008.
UE has won all three of the previous match ups against USI. The closest game was in 2006 when the Aces won 77-75 as the Eagles missed a three-point shot with time running out.
“We’re playing for bragging rights. We don’t play each other all the time, so when we do play each other, you have to take advantage of it,’ Thomas said. “A lot of people say we won’t handle this game differently, but I think because it’s UE, we will.”
The past three games between USI and UE were played at Robert’s Stadium where the capacity was over 12,000 for basketball games. In 2008, the attendance for the game was over 9,000 people.
“We should see a lot of red in the stands and probably have the same amount of fans as they do, if not more,” Thomas said. “We’re not going to let (our fans) down. We’re going to play hard and try and come out with a win.”
It’s a going to be a sad day for UE, Andy Hines, marketing major and member of Phi Delta Theta, said.
“I’m going to have front row tickets,” Hines said. “I’ll be there in body paint with some of my fraternatiy brothers.”
He said seeing USI play in the Ford Center is going be ridiculous.
The game will be the first time USI head coach Rodney Watson will get to coach in the Vectren Community Classic since becoming head coach in 2009.
“I talked to Coach Simmons early in the spring and asked him what he thought, but I never really asked for the game,” Watson said. “One thing lead to another, and in August everyone thought it would be a good idea.”
He said even though it is just an exhibition game, the teams are going to be competitive.
“Two teams from the same community – it’s not going to take a whole lot for either one of us to get competitive,” Watson said. “Anybody that plays with a scoreboard and time, your competitiveness kicks in and you want to score the most points.”
