The Eagles flew out to a 12-2 lead to start the game and by the 12:28 mark had commanding 21-7 advantage after hitting eight of their first 11 shots. USI continued to build upon the lead, taking a 49-24 lead into the intermission and leading by as many as 27 points during the first 20 minutes.
Senior guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) led the USI offensive surge during the opening stanza with 12 points on a blistering five-of-six from the field, two-of-two from long range. Sophomore forward Emmanuel Little(Indianapolis, Indiana) and junior guard/forward Nate Hansen (Evansville, Indiana) followed in the scoring column with nine first half points each.
USI pushed the 25-point halftime lead to 33 points, 66-33, before the first seven minutes were gone in the final half. The margin would continue to grow to as many as 36 points, 92-56, with 3:05 to play before the Eagles cruised to the 96-64 win.
Stein added six second-half points to lead six Eagles in double-digits with 18 points. The senior guard, who is shooting 70.9 percent from the field (39-55) in the last five games, was a blistering seven-of-nine from outside, two-of-three from the arc, and two-of-three from the stripe.
Junior guard/forward Kobe Caldwell (Bowling Green, Kentucky) followed with 16 points, hitting for 11 points during the second half. Little dropped in 15 points and completed his sixth double-double of the season with a game-high 10 rebounds.
The second half of USI’s double-digit scorers were Hansen and sophomore forward Josh Price(Indianapolis, Indiana) recording 12 points each, while sophomore guard Mateo Rivera (Indianapolis, Indiana) finished out the top six with 11 points and a team-high six assists.
USI concludes the homestand Saturday at 3:15 p.m. with a visit from Drury University. The USI-Drury game also is the annual Hoops for the Troops to celebrate our veterans and active duty military. Game coverage information for USI Men’s Basketball can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
Drury saw it record to 9-10, 3-5 GLVC, after falling to top-ranked Bellarmine University, 81-59, tonight in Louisville, Kentucky.
The series between USI and Drury is knotted up at 11-11 after the Panthers defeated the Eagles last season during the regular season in Springfield, Missouri, 71-61, and in the GLVC Tournament, 79-72. Forward Julius Rajala led the Eagles versus the Panthers last season with 17.0 points per game, while Stein posted 15.0 points per contest in the two outings.
