Polakovich dominates in 86-81 victory Eagles hold on in the second half for the win

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) dominated and led the Screaming Eagles to an 86-81 victory over Southeast Missouri State University Thursday evening to open Ohio Valley Conference action at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Eagles, who are 6-0 at home this season, go to 8-6 overall and 1-0 in the OVC, while the Redhawks are 5-9, 0-1 OVC.
 
Polakovich overpowered SEMO in the lane tonight, posting 27 points and grabbing 26 rebounds in the victory. The senior, who also had a career-high five assists, was 11-of-18 from the field and five-of-nine from the stripe, while swiping 11 offensive and 15 defensive rebounds off the glass.
 
The 26 rebounds were one short of the USI single-game record (27 by Aaron Nelson versus Kentucky State University December 7, 2013) and is the first 20-20 game by an Eagle since Emmanuel Little had 29 points, 21 rebounds versus Missouri University of Science & Technology January 18, 2018.
 
The 20-20 outing also is the first in the OVC since Austin Peay State University’s Terry Taylor (26 points and 23 rebounds versus Belmont University) and the University of Tennessee-Martin’s Quintin Dove (26 points and 20 rebounds versus Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) posted those numbers in the 2019-20 season. Polakovich’s 26 rebounds also is the most in an OVC contest since before the 2002-03 campaign.
 
USI and SEMO started slowly, combining for only 35 percent from the field (14-40), before the Eagles exploded on a 15-0 run to build a 19-point advantage, 39-20. Senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) sparked the surge with a steal and slam with 4:10 to play.
 
USI would go five-of-six from the field during the run, including three-of-four from beyond the arc, and was led by 10-point explosion by graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Ohio). Lakes scored all 10 of his first half points in the 2:24 surge.
 
Polakovich owned the glass during the first 20 minutes with 13 boards (five offensive, 8 defensive) and was only two points away from his fourth double-double of the season.
 
The Eagles flew out of the locker room to start the second half and extended the margin to a game-high 23 points, 52-29, when freshman guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) connected on a three-pointer with 17:43 to play. SEMO would start to chip away at the USI lead from that point, cutting the margin to nine points, 61-52, with 10:37 remaining on a 23-9 run.
 
USI pushed the lead back to double-digits for the next nine minutes before SEMO made one last push. The Redhawks would get as close as five points, 83-78, with 24 second to play before Swope and Lakes added a trio of free throws to shut the door on an 86-81 victory.
 
In the scoring column, Polakovich’s 27 points were followed by Swope’s 18 points and Lakes’ 11 points. Swope was four-of-12 from the field, including a three-pointer, and nine-of-11 from the stripe, while dishing a season-high nine assists.