EVANSVILLE (Interstat) — AJ Casey scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Bryce Quinet added 10 points and 11 assists and Evansville rallied past visiting Ind.-Kokomo 80-70 on Monday in a men’s NCAA Division I basketball game at Ford Center. The Purple Aces improved to 1-0. Ind.-Kokomo, a non-divisional opponent, led 42-34 at halftime before Evansville took control after the break. Announced attendance was 1,850.

Evansville scored 80 points on 70 possessions, an offensive rating of 113.5. The Purple Aces finished with 10 offensive rebounds, nine assists, four blocks, six turnovers and 15 fouls. Ind.-Kokomo scored 70 points and stayed within striking distance until the final minutes, but Evansville’s second-half response put the home team in front for good.

Casey, a 6-foot-9 forward from Chicago who previously played at Whitney Young, had 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one block in 30 minutes. Quinet, a 6-3 guard from Notre Dame Preparatory High School, finished with 10 points, three rebounds and 11 assists in 32 minutes. Riek, a 6-6 guard from Mayo, added 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes. Dyson-Merwe, a 6-11 forward from Centre for Excellence, contributed eight points, five rebounds and one assist in 22 minutes. Symons, a 6-4 guard from Coeur d’Alene Senior High School, scored eight points with two rebounds in 21 minutes.

Winther, a 6-10 forward from Universal School, had seven points and one rebound in eight minutes. Langenfeld, a 6-6 guard from Urspringschule, had six points, two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes. Gutman, a 6-7 guard from Walton-Verona, added five points and one assist in 12 minutes. Kemm, a 6-4 guard from International School, scored five points in nine minutes. Renn, a 6-10 forward from Terre Haute North Vigo High School, had two points, one rebound and one block in one minute.

Ind.-Kokomo built its halftime lead behind Joseph Annan, Hudson Horvath and Brandon Addison. James Dyson-Merwe opened the scoring with a layup, Max Langenfeld hit a 3-pointer and Evansville took an early 5-0 lead. Ind.-Kokomo answered with a Jake McGraw 3-pointer and a Moses Haynes 3 before Hudson Horvath’s jumper gave the visitors an 8-7 edge. Casey hit a 3-pointer, Quinet connected from deep and Dyson-Merwe scored again as Evansville moved ahead 15-10. Ind.-Kokomo responded with Joseph Annan’s layup and 3-pointer and Horvath’s back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 19-15 lead. Annan’s jumper pushed the margin to 21-15 before Makuei Riek hit a 3 and Casey converted a three-point play to tie it at 21.

Ind.-Kokomo regained control with Brandon Addison’s jumper, Cooper Jackson’s free throw and layup, and Jake McGraw’s layup for a 28-23 lead. Keylan Smith’s layup made it 30-23, but Casey answered with a jumper and free throw, and Moses Haynes hit a 3 for Ind.-Kokomo. Annan made two free throws and a layup, and Brandon Addison’s 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer gave Ind.-Kokomo a 42-34 halftime lead.

Quinet opened the second half with a layup and free throw, and after Annan scored for Ind.-Kokomo, Quinet made two free throws. Horvath made two free throws for the visitors before Riek hit a 3 and Langenfeld added another 3 to cut the lead to 46-45. Addison answered with a jumper, Casey made a layup and Addison scored again before Dyson-Merwe’s layup and Symons’ free throw tied the score at 50. Annan’s jumper and free throw gave Ind.-Kokomo a 53-50 lead with 13:10 remaining.

The decisive stretch came after that Annan free throw. Quinet made a layup, Gutman scored twice around a Casey jumper and Gutman capped an 8-0 run with a dunk that put Evansville ahead 58-53 with 11:02 left. Ind.-Kokomo pulled within 60-59 on Cameron Karns’ jumper with 8:02 remaining, but Evansville answered with free throws from Winther and Riek. Symons hit a 3-pointer at the 5:00 mark to push the lead to 68-60, and Casey followed with a layup.

Winther made four free throws and a dunk, Riek added two free throws, and Symons hit a 3 as Evansville extended the lead. Harris made two free throws for Ind.-Kokomo, R’Mani Wells made one, and Casey’s layup restored a 70-63 cushion. Symons scored again, Winther made a dunk and free throws, Casey scored inside, and Harris and L’Homme hit late shots for Ind.-Kokomo. Casey’s layup with 1:47 remaining made it 78-66, and Renn closed the scoring with a layup with 9.3 seconds left. Ind.-Kokomo got a late 3-pointer from Jonjon L’Homme and free throws from Doron Harris, but the visitors could not cut the deficit below double digits in the final minute.

Evansville is next scheduled to play Southern Indiana. The Purple Aces will look to build on the season-opening win as they continue their non-conference schedule. Evansville’s upcoming schedule includes Southern Indiana, Middle Tennessee, Miami (Ohio), Le Moyne, Memphis, Missouri, Chicago State, Western Kentucky, Ball State and Brescia.