The University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team opens its 2016-17 home schedule Saturday and Sunday with an abbreviated Bill Joergens Memorial Classic at the Physical Activities Center. Game time Saturday versus Ohio Valley University is 7:30 p.m., while tip-off Sunday against Lees-McRae College is 7 p.m.
The Bill Joergens Memorial Classic is dedicated to the memory of Bill Joergens, who played on the first USI men’s basketball team in the late 1960s and continued his support of USI Athletics by becoming chair of the Varsity Club. A part of Joergens’ legacy is the development of the Varsity Club Steak Fry and Auction, which has raised nearly $500,000 since 1992. Upon losing his battle with cancer, Joergens left a major portion of his estate to the USI men’s basketball program. The estate funds this tournament and fifth-year scholarship aid for USI men’s basketball players, who have exhausted their eligibility.
Game coverage for the home games, including live stats, video stream, and audio broadcasts, is available at GoUSIEagles.com. The games also can be heard on WEOA 98.5FM/1400AM and 95.7FM The Spin.
USI Men’s Basketball Week 5 Quick Notes:
- Eagles start 2016-17 home schedule. The University of Southern Indiana is playing at home for the first time this year when it hosts Ohio Valley University and Lees-McRae College this weekend. USI’s six games away from the Physical Activities Center to start the 2016-17 campaign are the most in program history. The longest road trips to start the year were three-game trips by the 1997-98, 1998-99, 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2008-09 teams that traveled to the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic in Orlando, Florida.
- USI is 6-0 again!The Screaming Eagles are 6-0 for the 14th time in the history of the program. The last time USI started a year 6-0 was in 2013-14.
- USI is 2-0 to start the GLVC slate. USI went 2-0 to start the 2016-17 GLVC slate, winning on the road at McKendree University, 104-58, and the University of Illinois Springfield, 86-75.
- Scoring leaders last week. Sophomore guard Alex Stein led USI in scoring versus McKendree and Illinois Springfield with 19.5 points per game. Junior guard Marcellous Washington was the Eagles’ top scorer verus McKendree with a season-best 20 points, while Stein dropped in a game-high 26 points versus Illinois Springfield.
- Season leaders.Sophomore guard Alex Stein leads the Eagles in scoring this season with 22.2 points per game, followed by senior guard Jeril Taylor with 19.0 points per game. Junior forward Julius Rajala and senior guard Bobo Drummond round out the double-digit scorers with 15.3 and 10.3 points per contest, respectively.
- Ohio Valley vs. USI.USI leads the all-time series with Ohio Valley, 6-0. The Eagles won the last meeting in 2014-15 when they defeated the Fighting Scots, 84-83, in a neutral site battle at Bellarmine University’s Knights Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Ohio Valley in 2016-17.The Fighting Scots are 0-6 to start the year.
- Lees-McRae vs. USI.USI leads the all-time series with Lees-McRae College, 2-0, after posting a 118-104 win at the PAC last November.
- Lees-McRae in 2016-17. The Bobcats of Lees-McRae are off to a 2-7 start after and will play at Limestone College December 10 before visiting USI.
- USI in the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic. USI is 16-2 in the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic that began in the 2007-08 season.
