The 12th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team outlasted Saint Joseph’s College through three overtimes and won, 122-113, Thursday evening in Rensselaer, Indiana. USI sees its record go to 19-1 overall and 9-1 in the GLVC, while Saint Joseph’s goes to 9-11, 3-7 GLVC.
The victory keeps USI in a tie for first in the GLVC East Division with 10th-ranked Bellarmine University. Both teams are 9-1 in conference play.
The Screaming Eagles were sluggish to start the road trip, falling behind, 19-9, with 13:35 left in the first half. A 10-2 USI run in the final three minutes gave the Eagles their only lead of the half, 38-37, before the Pumas scored the final five points to lead 42-38 at the intermission.
The battle between the two GLVC team continued into the second half, which featured four ties and 11 lead changes. The Eagles rallied to build a seven-point lead, 82-75, with 2:01 left in regulation when the Pumas went on a 12-5 run to tie the game, 87-87, and send the contest into three overtime periods.
The three overtime periods would see three different Eagles step up to get USI to the victory.
In the first overtime, senior guard/forward Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) hit a three-point bomb with 42 seconds left to knot the game, 98-98, and force the second overtime. Taylor scored seven of USI’s 11 points in the first overtime.
The second overtime saw the Eagles lead all but the last 40 seconds as the teams scored seven points each and the Pumas tying the game, 105-105, with a three-pointer with 40 ticks on the clock to force a third extension of the contest. USI junior guard Marcellous Washington (Lexington, Kentucky) took his turn to pace the squad with five of the seven points, hitting two-of-three from the field, one-of-two from downtown.
In the final five minutes and the third overtime, USI sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) took over and led the Eagles to the victory. Stein scored eight points in the final period, hitting two-of-three from the field and a clutch four-of-five from the line as USI outscored Saint Joseph’s, 17-8, to close out the 122-113 victory.
The triple-overtime game was the fourth in the history of the USI men’s basketball program with the last occurring in the 1997-98 season (134-125 win over Northern State University in the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic). USI is 3-1 all-time in triple-overtime contests.
Individually, Taylor led six Eagles in double-figures with 38 points in a team-high 51 minutes of action. The senior guard, who has reached 30-or-more points four times this season, was 12-of-27 from the field, four-of-eight from beyond the arc, and 10-of-11 from the line. He also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds, marking his fifth double-double of the season.
Washington followed Taylor in the scoring column with 19 points, hitting a blistering seven-of-10 from the field, three-of-five from long range, and two-of-two from the line. Stein and senior guard Cortez Macklin (Louisville, Indiana) tied with 17 points each, while senior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) and sophomore forward Jacob Norman (Evansville, Indiana) had 10 points each to round out the double-figure scorers.
Norman also was second on the team with 10 rebounds, marking his first career double-double.
The Eagles conclude the road swing Saturday at 2:15 p.m. (CST) when they visit the University of Indianapolis. The Greyhounds saw their seven-game winning streak stopped by Bellarmine, 81-75, tonight and watched their record fall to 10-8 overall, 7-3 GLVC.
Live coverage of USI-UIndy match-up can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
The Eagles lead the all-time series with the Greyhounds, 54-21, and have a 16-13 advantage in games at Nicoson Hall. UIndy, which has won three of the last four contests with the Eagles, defeated USI last season at the Physical Activities Center, 82-78. Stein led the Eagles in last year’s loss with 18 points.
USI returns to the friendly surroundings of the Physical Activities Center February 2 when it begins Homecoming Week by hosting Missouri University of Science & Technology for a 7:30 p.m. The Eagles finish the weekend with their Homecoming game February 4 at 3:15 p.m. when they host Drury University.
NOTE: USI junior forward Julius Rajala (Finland) missed tonight’s game and is out in definitely due to an injury to his right hand that occurred during Monday’s practice. More information on Rajala’s injury or his return to the line-up will be released as it becomes available.
