EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball stumbled in the 2021-22 Great Lakes Valley Conference opener, 68-62, to the University of Indianapolis Monday evening in Screaming Eagles Arena. USI, ranked 17th nationally in the D2SIDA Top 25 poll, goes to 2-2, while UIndy rise to 4-2.
The Screaming Eagles and the Greyhounds battled back and forth in the opening 20 minutes as neither team was able to gain command and were tied 28-28 at the break. USI’s largest margin of the first half was six-points, 20-14, with 7:46 before halftime, while UIndy had a 4-0 lead to start the game.
USI freshman guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) led the offensive attack in the opening half with nine points, including a three-point bomb to send the squads into halftime tied at 28-28. Junior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) followed with eight points in the opening 20 minutes.
In the second half, it was the Greyhounds who raced out of the locker room and surged into the lead. UIndy used a 12-3 run to build a 40-31 lead six-and-a-half minutes into the final half.
The Eagles rebounded with a 17-10 push of their own to cut the deficit to two points, 50-48, with 7:48 left on the clock when Simmons converted both ends of a two-shot trip to the free throw line. Senior guard/forward Clayton Hughes (Jackson, Tennessee) led the offensive rush with 10 of the 17 points.
USI stay close over the next five minutes when Swope hit a jumper in the lane to put the Eagles down one point, 59-58, with 2:15 to play. The one-point deficit would be as close a USI would get in the final minutes as UIndy used a 9-4 run to close out the 68-62 contest.
Overall in the scoring column, Simmons led three Eagles in double-digits with 14 points before fouling out. Hughes followed with a season-high 12 points, while Swope closed out the double-figure scorers with 11 points.
COMING UP FOR USI:
USI hits the road for first time in the 2021-22 GLVC campaign Thursday when it visits the University of Illinois Springfield. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
USI has a 14-4 all-time series lead over the University of Illinois Springfield, including the last four and eight of the last 10 games. The Eagles won the only meeting in 2020-21, 88-69, in Springfield, while the second scheduled contest was cancelled due to COVID.
The Prairie Stars are 2-4 for the month of November after a falling at home tonight versus McKendree University, 51-47. The Stars are .500 in their last four games after starting the season with two losses.
