EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball got into the win column for the first time this season with a 68-65 victory over Tiffin University Tuesday evening at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles rise to 1-3 to start the campaign.
The Eagles had command of the first five minutes of the game and built a 16-8 advantage with 14:15 left in the opening stanza. The Dragons, who as a Division II team considered the contest an exhibition game, closed the gap multiple times before grabbing a 28-27 lead with 1:45 remaining and took a 31-29 advantage into the break.
USI sophomore guard/forward AJ Smith (Edwardsville, Illinois) was making his presence known in the opening half with a team-best eight points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) followed with seven points to lead the squad.
The second half began with the Eagles and Dragons trading buckets before Hernandez gave USI back the lead, 40-38, with a three-pointer and ignited a 20-8 run that extended the lead to a game-best 11 points, 57-46. Hernandez had eight of the 20 points during the run, while Smith dropped in another six.
Tiffin attempted another comeback as it did in the first half, but USI stiffened defensively. The Dragons would close to within three points twice in the final 10 seconds before the Eagles sealed the 68-65 win on a pair of free throws by Hernandez with eight seconds left.
Overall in the game, USI won the battle of the boards for the first time this season, 36-30, and outshot the Dragons 45.8 percent (27-59) to 43.1 percent (25-58) from the field.
Hernandez led the Eagles in the scoring column with his second-straight career-best of 24 points. The junior guard, who had 18 points Monday night against Chicago State University, was seven-of-12 from the field, including a three-pointer, and nine-of-10 from the stripe.
Smith followed with 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for this second-straight double-double. Junior guard Jordan Tillmon (Pine Bluff, Arkansas) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
Next Up For USI:
USI hits the road for nine days, starting Thursday, when it plays in the Duke Blue Devil Challenge. The Eagles begin action in the challenge at La Salle University Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) before continuing at Bucknell University November 20 at 5 p.m. (CST). The squad finishes the nine-day road swing at #9 Duke University November 24 at 5 p.m. (CST).
Fans can follow USI Basketball action on the road by visiting USIScreamingEagles.
La Salle is 3-0 to start the year, posting a 67-61 win over Drexel University and a 79-74 win over Northeastern University at home. The Explorers started their portion of the Duke Blue Devil Challenge at home tonight with a 69-57 over Bucknell for the third win of the year.
The Bison of Bucknell are 1-3 after tonight’s loss at LaSalle. Bucknell opened the season with losses at home to the University of Delaware, 78-57, and the University of Pennsylvania, 80-61, before getting a road-win at Niagara University, 73-64.
Duke opened the season with a 92-54 win over Dartmouth University and a loss to #12 University of Arizona, 78-73, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils raised its record to 2-1 with a 74-65 win over #18/#19 Michigan State University tonight in the State Farm Champions Classic in Chicago, Illinois.
Bucknell plays Duke Thursday, while La Salle takes on the Blue Devils November 21, prior to USI’s visit to Cameron on November 24.
