 University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball took control from the opening basket and rolled to a 78-59 victory over Rockhurst University Thursday evening in Kansas City, Missouri. The Screaming Eagles go to 12-4 overall and 4-2 in the GLVC, while the Hawks are 10-6, 4-2 GLVC.
From the first two points of the game by USI junior guard/forward Kobe Caldwell (Bowling Green, Kentucky), the Eagles flew out to a commanding lead during the first half. USI led by as many as 16 points, 28-12, before taking a 36-22 advantage into the intermission.
Senior guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) paced the Eagles during the opening half with 12 points, while senior guard/forward Nate Hansen (Evansville, Indiana) followed with nine points on three-of-four from beyond the three-point arc.
In the second half, the Eagles continued to cruise and extended the halftime lead to as many as 19 points three times before the Hawks made a run in the final three minutes. Rockhurts would shrink the USI lead to 13 points twice (70-57 and 72-59), but a Hansen three-point bomb ended the Hawk’s run as the Eagles closed out the 78-59 victory.
Stein added 12 second half points and finished the game with a game-high 26 points. He was a blistering seven-of-nine from the field, three-of-three from downtown, and nine-of-12 from the line. The seven-of-nine from the field bolstered Stein’s field goal percentage over the last three games to 67.6 percent (23-34).
Caldwell, Hansen, and sophomore forward Emmanuel Little (Indianapolis, Indiana) followed Stein in the scoring column with 12 points each. Little, who scored six of USI’s first eight points of the game, also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for his team-best fifth double-double of the season.
USI concludes its quick two-game trip to the GLVC’s west coast when it visits William Jewell College Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest in Liberty, Missouri. The Cardinals saw their record go to 8-10 overall and 2-4 in the GLVC after falling to top-ranked Bellarmine University, 85-65, at home tonight.
The Eagles lead the all-time series versus William Jewell, 5-1, since the Cardinals joined the league in 2010-11. USI lost last year’s match-up, 94-81, and was by senior Hansen and forward DayJar Dickson led the Eagles with 18 and 17 points, a respectively Stein and Little rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15 points and 11 points.
