University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball cruised to a 20-point victory versus Ohio Valley University, 85-65, on the first night of the ninth-annual Bill Joergens Memorial Classic Friday evening at the Physical Activities Center. USI goes to 4-1 overall and 3-0 on the six-game homestand, while OVU sees its record go to 1-5 in 2015-16.
The Screaming Eagles used a 14-8 in the final five minutes of the opening half to take control and lead by 16-points by the intermission, 49-33. Freshman guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) and senior guard Travis Britt (Rantoul, Illinois) keyed the Eagles’ offensive spurt in the first 20 minutes with 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
The Fighting Scots cut the Eagles’ advantage to seven points, 57-50, in the first seven minutes of the second half. USI responded by pushing the lead to 18 points, 72-54, with 6:42 remaining on a 15-4 run. The Eagles extended the margin to as many as 23 points twice in the last four minutes before settling for the 85-65 final.
USI shot 49.2 percent for the game (31-63) and won the rebounding battle, 38-29, while forcing 16 OVU turnovers.
Individually, Stein led four Eagles in double-figures with a game-high and season-high 23 points. The freshman guard was a blistering seven-of-eight from the field, four-of-five from long range, and five-of-six from the charity stripe.
Senior forward George Edwards (Chicago, Illinois) followed Stein in the scoring column with 16 points on six-of-seven from field and four-of-five from the line, while Britt and senior forward Shane Seniour (Newburgh, Indiana) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
USI concludes action in the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts fifth-ranked Midwestern State University. The Mustangs, who will be playing the Eagles for the first time in men’s basketball Saturday night, defeated top-ranked Bellarmine University, 77-71, in the classic’s opening game.
