 12th-ranked University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball lost a seesaw contest with Southwest Baptist University, 71-69, Saturday afternoon at the Screaming Eagles Arena. USI goes to 9-2 overall and 1-2 in the GLVC, while Southwest Baptist is 9-2, 2-1 GLVC.
An extremely close game through the first nine minutes, USI tried to break away with a 14-5 run to post the largest lead of the first half, 28-17. Senior guard Joe Laravie triggered the run with five points as the Eagles hit five-of-eight shots, including a pair of threes during the surge.
The Bearcats responded with a surge of their own (17-5) and cut the Eagles advantage to three points, 35-33, by the intermission. Laravie and junior forward Clayton Hughes topped the USI leader board after the break with eight points each.
USI junior forward Josh Price and Hughes combined for seven points in the first two minutes of the second half to push the Eagles’ lead back to 10 points, 42-32. Southwest Baptist, however, exploded on a 13-2 run, hitting six-of-10 from the field in four minutes, to take a 45-44 advantage and their first lead of the game.
The Bearcats pushed their lead to eight points, 53-45, to cap off a 21-3 run with 12:09 to play when the Eagles began to mount a comeback of their own. USI junior guard Mateo Rivera scored five points and propelled the Eagles on an 11-2 surge to regain the lead, 56-55, on a jumper in the lane by Price with 6:12 left.
The Eagles dropped back into the negative column two possessions later, 57-56, and were never able grab the lead back. USI saw the margin climb to as many as five three times in the final minutes and was able close the deficit back to one twice, but could not connect on the go ahead field goal attempts to fall.
Individually, Rivera and Price led four Eagles in double-digits with 17 points each. Rivera, who posted a season-high in the loss, was five-of-eight from the field, three-of-five from downtown, and four-of-four from the stripe. Price, who missed his four-straight double-double by one rebound, was eight-of-13 from the field and one-of-two from the line.
Hughes followed with 13 points on three-of-five, a blistering three-of-four from beyond the arc, and four-of-four from the line, while Laravie rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
On the glass, USI lost its first battle on the board for the first time this season, 35-34. Price and junior forward Emmanuel Little led the way for the Eagles, tying for a game-high nine rebounds each.
USI starts next week’s action on the road when it travels to the 11th-ranked University of Indianapolis for a 6:30 p.m. (CST) contest. The Greyhounds watched their record to 9-2 overall and 1-2 in the GLVC after falling to the University of Illinois Springfield, 79-69, at home this afternoon.
The Eagles hold a 58-22 all-time series lead over the Greyhounds after sweeping the series last season. USI defeated UIndy on the road, 85-70, before closing out the Physical Activities Center and the 2018-19 regular season with a dramatic 67-65 victory on a last second shot by guard Alex Stein.
