The 10th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team lost a battle outside game versus inside game to  fourth-ranked Bellarmine University, 67-61, Thursday evening in Louisville, Kentucky. USI finished the regular season 25-3 overall and 15-3 in the GLVC, while Bellarmine goes to 25-3 overall, 17-1 GLVC.
Next up for the Screaming Eagles is the GLVC Tournament where they are the third seed and have a first round bye. USI will find out who its quarterfinal opponent is Sunday after the GLVC Tournament first round games (seeds 5-12).
The first half began the battle of inside versus outside, resulting in a Bellarmine 35-30 lead at the break. Bellarmine finished the first 20 minutes with a 30-2 advantage in the paint, while USI owned the outside by hitting eight-of-17 from beyond the arc.
The Eagles’ attack from outside was led by sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana), who had 13 first-half points on five-of-seven from the field, three-of-four from long range. Senior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) followed with nine points on three three-point bombs, while senior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) had six points on a pair of three-pointers.
In the second half, the contrasting styles continued as the Eagles rallied to take their largest lead of the game, 50-45, with 9:08 to play on Drummond’s season-best fifth three-point field goal of the contest. The Knights took control from that point, limiting the Eagles to only two baskets in the final seven minutes and outscoring USI, 22-11, to get their 41st-straight home victory.
USI, overall, won the battle beyond the arc, 36-0 (12-of-29 from three-point range), while the Knights took the struggle in the paint, 48-10. The Eagles, who were held to their lowest point total of the year, also won the battle on the boards, 33-30.
Individually, Stein would lead three Eagles in double-digits with a game-high 20 points. The sophomore guard, who had seven points in the second half, was eight-of-14 from the field, three-of-six from downtown, and one-of-one from the line.
Drummond, who had a team-best nine points in the second half, finished the game with a season-high 18 points, hitting six-of-12 from the field and five-of-nine from downtown. Taylor rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points, hitting three three-point buckets and a pair of free throws.
