UE basketball will be without one of its top players for immediate future

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University of Evansville men’s basketball will be without one of its top players for the immediate future.

Illinois-Chicago defeated UE 78-67 on Wednesday at Ford Center for the Purple Aces’ fourth straight loss. The bigger concern is the availability of Cam Haffner moving forward. The junior guard left with 13:48 remaining in the first half with an apparent wrist injury.

Haffner was fouled on a successful drive and score. Attempting to brace his fall, he immediately winced and held his left arm. The junior went to the locker room and never returned to the bench. The Westfield graduate is one of UE’s top perimeter players at 12.7 points per game and a team-best 47 three-pointers.

More: Former UE soccer standout, coach Mick Lyon passed away at 61

UE coach David Ragland had not yet received the exact nature of the injury.

“It didn’t look good when he landed,” said Ragland. “We’ll probably be without him for a while.”

Evansville’s Cam Haffner (3) takes a three-point shot as the Evansville Purple Aces play the Indiana State Sycamores at Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.

It’s a blow for a team struggling to find consistent offense against the Missouri Valley Conference.

UE (6-14, 3-6) trailed by as much as 20 in the second half against UIC. It cut the deficit to seven in the final minutes. Tayshawn Comer led five in double figures with 18 points and eight assists. Gabriel Pozzato, who previously missed eight games with a back injury, had 13 points in his second game since returning.

Ragland was encouraged by the second-half performance. The Aces had 17 assists to only six turnovers but also went 4-for-20 from deep. The Flames (13-6) hit 11 threes in comparison. Should Haffner miss an extended stretch, if not more, it would require multiple players to replace his production. UE is favored in one remaining regular season game per KenPom.

“We’ve got to have that from the beginning,” Ragland said of the second half. “It was a switch they just turned on and played…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ue-basketball-without-one-top-132637998.html

Author : The Courier & Press

Publish date : 2025-01-23 13:26:00

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