The first two-game winning streak of Miami University’s men’s basketball season has been followed by the first two-game losing streak.

The RedHawks took their second loss in five days in the Hoosier State on Wednesday night, getting blasted by streak-shooting Evansville 94-68 before a crowd of 3,481 at the Ford Center.

“The better team won that one,” MU coach John Cooper said with a shrug. “What bothers me is we didn’t have great energy to start the game. We haven’t figured out how to take people’s runs, and part of that is mental toughness.”

The Purple Aces buried Miami (3-4) by shooting 63.2 percent from the field and hitting an amazing 14-of-18 treys, with D.J. Balentine sinking 5-of-6 beyond the arc. The hosts also earned a 38-13 advantage on the boards.

“I don’t think our effort was necessarily where it should’ve been,” RedHawks junior guard Josh Sewell said. “If we have that same effort Saturday night (at Dayton), we’ll get the exact same result.”

MU did shoot the ball well (49 percent from the field, 9-of-19 from 3-point range) and only had nine turnovers, but the RedHawks simply couldn’t keep up with Evansville (5-3). It was 46-26 at halftime.

“We spotted them way too many points in the first half,” Cooper said. “We didn’t play well, but we’re still in the babystep process. We still have to discover who we are. We’ve got to get some things figured out and make some adjustments.”

Allen Roberts scored 15 points, Jon Harris had 13 and Reggie Johnson added 11 for Miami. Sewell, returning from an ankle injury after missing the last four games, chipped in nine off the bench.

“It felt really good to get out there,” said Sewell, who sank 3-of-4 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws in 14 minutes. “It almost felt like my first collegiate game as a junior. I was very antsy to play. My timing’s a little off, but I’m out there.”

He said his right ankle isn’t close to 100 percent, but that doesn’t matter at this point

“At the end of the day, I have to perform regardless of the constraints of my physical condition,” Sewell said.

Leading the Aces’ scoring were Colt Ryan (18), Ned Cox (15), Balentine (15) and Troy Taylor (11). Ryan also dished out 8 assists, and Taylor snagged 9 boards.

“They didn’t miss open looks,” Cooper said. “You could be out here by yourself and not have those kind of numbers.”

Quinten Rollins had seven assists and Will Felder collected a team-high three rebounds for the RedHawks, who led only twice (3-2 and 5-4).

Evansville finished the first half with a 28-12 surge. The Aces were 8-of-11 on 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, 6-of-7 thereafter.