University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball broke the 100-point plateau for the first time in 2016-17 and defeated Florida Southern College, 108-94, in the opening night of the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic Friday at the Ford Center. USI sees its record go to 3-0 overall, while Florida Southern goes to 1-3.
An even contest through the first seven minutes before a 12-3 USI run gave the Screaming Eagles control of the first half, 24-15, with 10:13 left until halftime. Florida Southern would rally to cut the USI margin to four points four times before the Eagles scored the final eight points of the opening 20 minutes to lead by 12 at the intermission, 50-38.
Senior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) led the Eagles’ offensive attack during the first half, scoring 20 points. He was six-of-10 from the field, a blistering four-of-six from long range, and a perfect four-of-four from the charity stripe.
The Eagles continued their run into the early minutes of second half, finishing the 25-7 run with a 23-point, 65-42 lead. The Moccasins chipped away at the Eagles’ advantage, cutting the margin to 10 points, 98-88, but that would be as close as they would come before the 108-94 final.
Taylor added to his first half total and finished with a game-high 30 points. He was eight-of-16 from the field, four-of-eight from long range, and 10-of-10 from the stripe to post his third 30-point game as an Eagle.
Junior forward Julius Rajala (Finland) and sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) followed Taylor in double-figures with 23 points and 17 points, respectively.
As a team, USI shot 49.3 percent from the field (33-67), 47.1 percent from beyond the arc (8-17), and 77.3 percent from the stripe (34-44), while outrebounding Florida Southern, 47-38. The Eagles also had control of the paint, outscoring the Moccasins, 40-26.
USI completes action in the SCB Hall of Fame Classic Saturday at 8:30 p.m. when the play long-time rival Kentucky Wesleyan College. The Panthers saw their record go to 2-1 after falling Lincoln Memorial University, 88-72, in Friday’s second game.
KWC leads the all-time series with USI, 49-40, but the Eagles have won the last four meetings and five of the last eight. The last meetings were in 2013-14 when USI swept KWC, winning at the Sportscenter, 70-61, and at the PAC, 80-68.
In the first SCB Hall of Fame Classic game on Friday, Bellarmine defeated third-ranked University of Alabama-Huntsville, 81-68.
Live coverage of the tournament’s final day can be found on GoUSIEagles.com and ESPN3.
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multiscreen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
