Screaming Eagles had five in double-digits
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball snapped its losing streak with an 82-68 Senior Night win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Saturday evening at Liberty Arena. The Screaming Eagles are 10-18 overall and 5-13 in OVC action, while the Cougars go to 19-10, 12-6 OVC.
USI started Senior Night off on the right foot with a quick 7-2 lead before two minutes were gone. The Eagles would hang onto the lead for 10 more minutes when the Cougars grabbed a brief 26-25 advantage before USI jumped back in front 28-26 on a three by junior guard Braxton Jones with 7:36 left in the half.
The USI lead would grow back to five points, 33-28, with just under seven minutes to play on an old-fashioned three-point play by sophomore forward Stephen Olowoniyi. The lead expanded to double-digits, 42-31, on back-to-back buckets in the paint by junior center Alex Horiuk and a three-pointer by junior guard Ryan Hall that forced an SIUE timeout.
USI junior guard Jack Campion sent the Eagles into the locker with the first-half’s largest of 13-point lead, 46-33. Hall had a team-high and season-high 11 points during the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, USI briefly took the lead to 15 points, 50-35, before SIUE used a 7-2 surge to close the gap to nine points, 52-43, with 14:40 remaining in the game. Junior forward Jadyn Shider took the lead back to 11 points with a bucket, while junior guard Jayland Randall pushed the lead back to 12 points, 59-47, on a three-pointer from the right corner.
SIUE closed the gap to seven points, 59-52, with 9:37 to play in the contest and to five points, 60-55, with 8:34 remaining. USI took back the momentum with an 8-2 run, pushing the lead back to double-digits, 68-57, with 6:00 on the clock.
After the Eagles and the Cougars traded buckets for two minutes, graduate forward Jack Mielke hit a big three-pointer with 3:04 remaining to keep the Eagles in front by 11 points, 73-62. The three-pointer ignited a 7-0 run for a 77-63 advantage and put the Eagles back in command for good. USI finished out the game on a 12-6 run for an 82-68 victory.
On the scoreboard, USI had five players in double-digits and was led by the 20-point performance by Randall. He was five-of-11 from the field, including a three-pointer, and nine-of-10 from the line.
Mielke and Jones followed with 12 points each, while Hall and Campion rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points and 10 points, respectively. The 11 points was a season high for Hall.
In addition to his 12 points, Mielke also grabbed a team-high and career-high 13 rebounds. The double-double was the second of Mielke’s career at USI.
With a Senior Night pre-game ceremony, USI honored its three seniors – graduate guard Sam Mervis, graduate forward Nick Hittle, and Mielke – and their families.
