Eagles face La Salle, Bucknell to begin Challenge

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball begins a long haul on the road, traveling to the east coast to play in the Duke Blue Devil Challenge between November 18 and November 24.
 
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).
 
The first two games in USI’s road trip will be streamed on ESPN+ and also can be heard on ESPN 97.7FM (http://listentotheref.com) and 95.7FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com). The USI-Duke contest will air on the ACC Network.
 
The Eagles (1-2) hope to stay on track after posting a 68-65 win over Tiffin University Tuesday night. Junior guard Jeremiah Hernandez led the way with a career-high 24 points, while sophomore guard/forward AJ Smith followed with 14 points and posted his second-straight double-dobule with 13 rebounds. Junior guard Jordan Tillmon rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
 
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 Tuesday with a 69-57 over Bucknell for the third win of the year.
 
The Bison of Bucknell are 1-3 after Tuesday’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 Tuesday 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.