University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball erased a 19-point first half deficit with a 34-point swing to defeat Lees-McRae College, 98-83, in the final game of the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic Sunday evening at the Physical Activities Center. USI sees its record go to 8-0 overall for the 11th time in the history of the program, while Lees-McRae goes to 2-9.
The Screaming Eagles struggled out of the gate with their offense as cold as the December rain outside, while Lees-McRae was on fire. The Bobcats, who hit five-of-six three-point field goals to start the contest, raced out to a 19-point lead, 28-9, with 13:31 to play in the opening half.
The Eagles began to chip away at the deficit and used a 16-4 run to cut the margin to 45-41 in the final five minutes before intermission. USI made the most of its 25 trips to the free throw line in the opening stanza, connecting on 21 free throws.
USI sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) led the way in the first 20 minutes, posting a team-best 13 points. He was two-of-five from the field and nine-of-10 from the line.
The second half began with a bang for the Eagles as they posted an 8-1 run to take their first lead of the game, 49-46, since leading 2-0 in the opening minute. USI senior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) ignited the second half burst with a pair of long range three-point field goals.
USI extended its lead to 11 points, 68-57, by the 10 minute mark of the second half when sophomore forward Jacob Norman (Evansville, Indiana) capped off a 9-0 run with a thunderous dunk. Lees-McRae was not about to go quietly and quickly cut the Eagles margin to three, 71-68, with a 9-0 run of its own with 7:05 remaining when USI shut the door.
The Eagles sealed the victory with a 13-0 run to make the score, 84-68, at the under-four media timeout and cruised the rest of the way to a 98-83 victory.
Individually, Stein added 17 points in the second half and concluded the game with a game-high 30. He was seven-of-14 from the field, two-of-three from long range, and 14-of-15 from the line in reaching 30 points for the second time this season.
Norman followed Stein in the scoring column with a career-best 18 points, shooting a blistering six-of-seven from the field and six-of-six from the line. The sophomore forward also had a career-high and game-high nine rebounds.
Junior forward Julius Rajala (Finland) and Drummond rounded out the double-digit scorers with 17 points and 14 points, respectively. Rajala followed Norman in the rebounding column with eight, one short of tying a season high.
As a team, USI shot 53.2 percent from the field (25-47), just 37.5 percent from beyond the arc (6-16), and 84.0 percent from the line, finishing the game 42-of-50 at the stripe. The Eagles also won the battle of the boards, 36-24.
USI concludes the three-game homestand Wednesday when it hosts the NAIA’s Bluefield College at 7 p.m. The game will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Rams, who play at Kentucky Wesleyan College Tuesday night before visiting the PAC, are 7-9 overall this season.
