Local Sports

USI Men’s Basketball Race By The University of Indianapolis, 85-70

02/08/2019

University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball used a big first half to race by the University of Indianapolis, 85-70, Thursday evening in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Screaming Eagles rise to 16-5 overall and 8-3 in the GLVC, while the Greyhounds are 15-6, 8-3 GLVC.After the Eagles and the Greyhounds an 8-8 draw through the first 3:30 of the game, USI began to hit the gas and pull into the lead. The Eagles, midway through the half, exploded on a 22-5 run to race out to a 20 point lead, 40-20, with 1:07 left before the intermission. USI took a 42-23 lead into the intermission.

USI senior guard/forwardÂ Nate HansenÂ (Evansville, Indiana) led the way during the first 20 minutes, scoring eight of his 11 first-half points in the offensive surge. The Eagles, as a team, shot 52.9 percent from the field in the first half (18-34), 40 percent from downtown (4-10).

In the second half, the Eagles kept their foot on the gas pedal and extended the lead to 26 points, 56-32, by completing a 16-9 run at the 14:09 mark. Senior guard/forwardÂ Kobe CaldwellÂ (Bowling Green, Kentucky) led the second half rally with half of the 16 points in the run as the Eagles were 7-of-11 from the field to start the final half.

The Greyhounds, however, rebounded in the final 14 minutes to challenge the Eagles. UIndy used a 16-2 run to cut the USI advantage to 12 points with 10:18 left, 60-48, and got as close as 11 points, 64-53, before the Eagles got the contest back under control.

USI re-took command of the contest with a 9-0 run and re-extended the margin to 20 points, 73-53, when junior forwardÂ Hugues MbumbaÂ (Lubumbashi, Congo) deposited a bucket with 2:20 remaining. The Eagles and the Greyhounds would exchange buckets and free throws for the final two minutes as USI closed out the 85-70 victory.

Caldwell finished the game with a team-high 18 points, scoring 12 in the second half, to lead five players in double-figures. He was followed by Stein, who had 17 points to mark his 99thÂ double-figure game, while Hansen and sophomore forwardÂ Emmanuel LittleÂ (Indianapolis, Indiana) dropped in 13 points each. Sophomore guardÂ Mateo RiveraÂ (Indianapolis, Indiana) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

On the glass, USI won the battle on the boards, 42-38, and was led by senior forwardÂ Jacob Norman(Evansville, Indiana) grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

USI concludes the trip February 9 at 3 p.m. when it travels to Lewis University. Lewis increased its record to 16-5 overall and 9-2 in the GLVC with a 65-61 victory over third-ranked Bellarmine University at home this evening.

USI also has the series advantage versus Lewis, 46-25 overall and 38-25 in the GLVC, since the beginning of the match-ups in 1980-81. The Eagles and the Flyers split last season’s GLVC games with USI taking the game at the PAC, 84-75 in overtime, and Lewis taking the game in Neil Carey Arena, 73-52. The Flyers hold the edge in the series in Romeoville, 15-10.

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