MACOMB, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball made it close in the final 30 seconds, but lost at Western Illinois University, 82-76, Saturday afternoon in Macomb, Illinois. The Screaming Eagles drop to 8-21 overall and 5-11 in OVC play, while the Leathernecks are 18-11 overall, 11-5 OVC.
With the loss, USI falls into a tie for eighth with Tennessee Tech University with a pair of games left in the regular season for both squads. The Screaming Eagles, who host Lindenwood University Thursday and Southeast Missouri State University Saturday, owns the tiebreaker if Morehead State University is the top seed in the upcoming tournament.
The TTU Golden Eagles are scheduled to visit the University of Tennessee at Martin Thursday and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Saturday to finish the 2023-24 regular season. TTU has the tiebreaker with USI if UT Martin or Little Rock finishes ahead of MSU.
The top eight teams at the end of OVC play advance to the league tournament March 6-9 at the Ford Center in Evansville.
The opening half saw control of the game bounce back and forth with six lead changes and four ties. The Screaming Eagles posted their largest lead of the game with 9:46 to play in the first half. WIU would make a run to the end of the first half, outscoring USI, 23-11, to post a 39-33 advantage at halftime.
The second half saw WIU continue to increase the margin to as much as 13 points twice. USI would start to chip away at the margin following the second 13-point deficit with 10:19 to play, 65-52.
The Screaming Eagles used an 18-9 lead to close to 74-72 with 57 seconds to play in the game. USI junior forward Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) led the charge with nine points as the Screaming Eagles went eight-of-12 from the field during the run.
After four WIU free throws, USI would close to within two points one last time, 78-76, on a steal and bucket by sophomore guard/forward AJ Smith (Edwardsville, Illinois) with 12 seconds to play. That would be as close as USI would come in the final seconds as WIU closed out the 82-76 final.
In the scoring column, Hernandez led the Eagles with a game-high 27 points. The junior guard, who is averaging 22.3 points per game in the last four contests, eight of 18 from the field, including a three-pointer, and 10-of-14 from the stripe.
Smith followed with 20 points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds for this 12th double-double of the season. The sophomore guard/forward was seven-of-16 from the field, including a three, and five-of-six from the line.
Next Up For USI:
USI concludes the 2023-24 regular season with a pair of home games, hosting Lindenwood University February 29 and Southeast Missouri State University March 2. The USI-SEMO contest on March 2 is Senior Day for the Screaming Eagles.
The Lions of Lindenwood are 8-21 overall, 2-14 OVC, and have lost seven-straight after falling to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 82-73, at home this afternoon.
USI, which is 7-0 all-time versus the Lions, took the first meeting with Lindenwood in St. Charles, Missouri, winning 73-62, December. Eagles’ sophomore guard/forward AJ Smith led USI to the victory with a career-high 27 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Jeremiah Hernandez and sophomore forward Kiyron Powell (Evansville, Indiana) followed with 16 points and 11 points, respectively.
SEMO Redhawks are 8-21 overall, 3-13 OVC, after losing to the University of Tennessee at Martin, 82-72, at home today. The Redhawks, who visit MSU Thursday before visiting USI, have lost five-straight after today’s action.
USI, which trails the all-time series with the Redhawks, 5-3, lost the opening game of the season series with SEMO in 2023-24, falling in overtime, 93-91, on a last second shot in the extra period. Hernandez led the Eagles with a career-high 35 points, while Smith had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
