ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The 10th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team withstood a second half rally by Lewis University to win, 65-64, Saturday afternoon in Romeoville, Illinois. USI rises to 14-3 overall and 7-2 in the GLVC, while Lewis goes to 12-5, 5-4 GLVC.
After a slow start in the first half, a barrage of three-point bombs from junior guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) and junior forward Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky) took a three-point USI lead, 21-18, to 13 points, 34-21, in a matter of three minutes. USI would push the lead to 17 points by halftime, 43-26, on a three-pointer by junior guard Ben Jones (Robinson, Illinois) with 33 seconds left before intermission.
The Screaming Eagles were a blistering 60.7 percent from the field in the first half (17-28), hitting seven of their last 10 shots in the final seven minutes before the break. They also were 60 percent (6-10) from beyond the three-point arc during the first stanza.
USI quickly extended the lead to 19-points three times in the first five minutes of the second half, the third coming with 14:56 left, 51-32. This is when the Flyers mounted a comeback, cutting the Eagles advantage to one point, 56-55, on a 33-5 run.
A lay-up by USI senior center Keith DeWitt (High Point, North Carolina) pushed the lead back three, 58-55, when the Flyers closed to within one point again, 58-57, with 1:04 to play. Thomas went back to work on the offensive end, hitting a three-point heartbreaker to give the Eagles some breathing room at 61-57.
After the Flyers cut the Eagles lead in half, Rutledge and Thomas clinched the game for USI by connecting on both ends of one-and-one trips to the charity stripe. The Flyers hit a three with two ticks left on the clock for the final score of 65-64.
The Eagles scored only 22 points in the second half and cooled off to 31.8 percent from the field (7-22). USI also was outrebounded in the second half, 19-14, and 35-29 in the game.
Individually, Thomas finished the game with a season-best and game-high 20 points. He was a hot seven-of-11 from the field, four-of-seven from beyond the three-point arc, and two-of-two from the line.
Rutledge followed Thomas with 13 points, while DeWitt rounded out the USI double-digit scorers with 10 points. Junior forward Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana) was the Eagles’ top rebounder with seven boards.
The Eagles return to the friendly confines of the Physical Activities Center January 31 when they host eighth-ranked Bellarmine University for a 7:30 p.m. contest.USI returns to the road February 2 when it goes to McKendree University for the first GLVC game between the two programs.
Source: GoUSIEagles.com
