USI’s late rally not enough at EIU

CHARLESTON, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball fought hard but it was not enough as it fell at Eastern Illinois University, 91-80, Saturday afternoon in Charleston, Illinois. The Eagles go to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in the OVC, while the Panthers are 6-9, 2-0 OVC.
 
USI and EIU traded buckets and leads for the first 14 minutes of the opening half that featured 12 lead changes and five ties, before the Eagles’ offense went cold. The Panthers’ held the Eagles scoreless for 2:30, while exploding on a 21-10 run to finish the half with a 44-33 advantage.
 
During the EIU run to the intermission, the Panthers were nine-of-11 from the field and held USI to three-of-eight.
 
In the second half, USI saw the deficit quickly expand to 15 points, 48-33, before it began to chip away at the deficit first. The Eagles closed the gap to six points, 52-46, on a 13-4 run when they were five-of-eight from the field and were led by four points from senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio).
 
EIU would re-expand the lead to as many as 23 points, 83-60, with four minutes left in the game. Junior guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) sparked an 11-0 run with six points to get USI back in the fight, 83-71, with 2:31 remaining.
 
USI continued to try and close the deficit, but would only come as close as 10 points, 90-80, prior to the final 91-80 buzzer.
 
USI had four players reach double-digits in the scoring column, led by graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) and junior guard Gary Solomon (Detroit, Michigan) post 16 points each. Solomon was the hottest Eagle in the contest, hitting six-of-seven from the field and four-of-five from the stripe.
 
Sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) followed Lakes and Solomon with 14 points on five-of-seven from the field, four-of-five from long range, while Henry rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. Senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) reached double-digits for the third time in four games with 10 rebounds as USI outrebounded EIU, 33-28, as a team.