Ryan reaches another scoring milestone

Colt Ryan is the 27th player in MVC history to reach 1,800 career points. JASON CLARK/C&P

True to form, UE senior Colt Ryan didn’t speak much about himself on Wednesday when asked what it meant to be the 27th player in Missouri Valley Conference history with 1,800 career points.

“It’s just a great honor, and a lot of it has to do with the teammates I’ve played with and the coaching staff,” Ryan said.

“The coaches have taught me so much just helping me work on my game both individually and with the team – getting better with moves offensively and different reads. My teammates have done a great job getting me the ball when I’m open and screening for me.”

Ryan, a 6-foot-5 senior from Batesville, Ind., eclipsed the 1,800 mark with his 12 first-half points in UE’s road win over Northern Iowa. He finished with 21 points — the fourth time in five games he’s tallied at least 20 — raising his scoring average to 15.9 a contest.

A hip pointer injury suffered earlier this season most likely took Ryan out of the running to leave as the Aces’ all-time leading scorer. He’s still fourth on that list, however, with 1,816 points and within striking distance of third-place Ed Smallwood (1,898) and second-place Marcus Wilson (2,053). Larry Humes’ 2,236 points are the most scored by a UE player.

Ryan, named to the Senior CLASS Award watch list, is one of 44 Aces to reach 1,000 career points. He’s the program’s all-time leader in steals with 154, and his career free throw percentage of better than 80 percent is fourth in school history.