EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball junior forward Josh Price posted his second-straight double-double to lead the Screaming Eagles over Lewis University, 85-82, Saturday afternoon at Screaming Eagles Arena. USI goes to 21-5 overall and 13-5 in the GLVC, while Lewis finishes the afternoon 13-13, 8-10 GLVC.
The seventh-straight victory keeps USI, which began the day second in the GLVC point ratings, tied for third in the conference standings. The Eagles are a game behind the University of Missouri-St. Louis (14-4 GLVC) and Truman State University (14-4 GLVC), while maintaining a one-game lead over Bellarmine University (12-6 GLVC).
USI senior guard Joe Laravie opened the game by scoring five-straight points as the Eagles jumped out to a 7-0 lead to tip things off. The Eagles would hold a seven-point lead twice before the Flyers rallied to take their first lead and pull in front by five points, 21-16, with 9:51 until halftime.
USI junior forward Josh Price rallied the Eagles to a 35-34 lead by the intermission with 12 first-half points after hitting six-of-10 from the field, including a thunderous dunk with 31 ticks left the opening stanza.
In the second half, USI extended the one-point halftime margin to five points three times before Lewis knotted the game at 45-45 with 14:51 left in the contest and posted a lead of as many as six, 53-47, after the 13-2 run.
The Eagles rallied and evened the score at 61-61 at 7:14 when junior guard Mateo Rivera hit a jumper in the paint. The Flyers grabbed the lead one more time at 64-61 when USI hit the gas. Rivera propelled the Eagles on an 18-8 run with 8:07 left, scoring nine of the 18 points, to put USI out in front, 79-72. Price also recorded six points during the run, including a pair of monster jams.
Lewis would close but could not get any closer than four points in the final minute until a desperation shot at the buzzer gave the game a final score of 85-82. USI shot 60 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes (18-30), 71.4 percent from beyond the arc (5-7), while winning the battle of the boards for the game, 35-24.
Price was dominating for the second game in a row, hitting for a second-straight double-double, 22 points and 12 rebounds. He completed his eighth double-double of the season with 11-of-17 from the field, three offensive rebounds and nine defensive boards.
Rivera followed in the scoring column with 18 points, 16 coming in the second half. The junior guard, who also had a team-high six assists, was a blistering five-of-seven from the field, two-of-two from beyond the arc, and four-of-four from the stripe in the second half.
Junior guard/forward Clayton Hughes rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points off the bench. Hughes was four-of-seven from the field, three-of-four from long range, and a perfect two-of-two from the line.
USI returns to the road Thursday when it makes its final regular season and GLVC visit to Bellarmine. The Knights are 19-6 overall and 12-6 in the GLVC after winning its third-straight win in a 77-59 victory at Maryville University this afternoon in St. Louis, Missouri.
USI leads the all-time series versus Bellarmine University, 52-45, after stumbling at home, 79-65, in January. USI was led by Rivera, who led three Eagles in double-digits with 14 points. Junior forward Emmanuel Little and Laravie followed to round out the double-digit scorers with 12 points each.
