University of Southern Indiana junior guard Jeril Taylor  (Louisville, Kentucky) scored 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 111-101 victory over Kentucky State University Thursday evening at the Physical Activities Center. USI goes to 3-1 overall and 2-0 on the six-game homestand, while KSU sees its record go to 1-3.
Taylor, who had 20 points in the first half and 13 points in the second half, was eight-of-15 from the field, four-of-10 from long range, and 13-of-16 from the charity stripe. He also has posted back-to-back double-doubles to start the homestand.
The Eagles opened the game with a cold streak, hitting only one-of-five and six-of-20 from the field in the first 10 minutes. USI’s offense would warm up in the final 10 minutes of the opening half, hitting nine of its last 16 shots and building a lead of as many as 12 points (43-31) before going into halftime with a 55-48 lead.
In the second half, USI quickly extended the margin to nine points, 59-50, before KSU rallied to tie the score twice and take a 67-65 lead with 14:10 to play. The Eagles responded with an 11-2 run of their own and took the lead for good, extending the advantage to 15 points twice before settling for the 111-101 victory.
Individually, four additional Eagles joined Taylor in double-digit scoring. Freshman guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) was second on the team with 20 points, scoring 11 in the second half, while senior forward George Edwards (Chicago, Illinois) had 19 points, also dropping in 11 second half points.
Junior forward T.J. Tisdell (Cape Girardeau, Missouri) and junior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) rounded out the double-digit scoring with 14 points and 11 points, respectively. Drummond also had a team-high six assists.
As a team, USI set a single-game record with 42 free throws made, breaking the old record of 40 against Saint Joseph’s College in 1996-97. The Eagles also have scored 100-or-more points for the second-straight game for the first time since 2009-10.
USI crosses the halfway point of its six-game homestand this weekend when it hosts the ninth-annual Bill Joergens Memorial Classic at the PAC November 27-28. The 2015 classic features USI, number one-ranked Bellarmine University, fifth-ranked Midwestern State University, and Ohio Valley University. Game times each night is 5:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. with live coverage on GoUSIEagles.com.
