The 13th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team opened the 2019-20 regular season with an 82-73 victory over Hillsdale College Friday afternoon on the first day of the G-MAC/GLVC Crossover in Hillsdale, Michigan USI starts the season,1-0, while Hillsdale opens with a 0-1 mark.
The Eagles’ victory pulls Head Coach Rodney Watson to within one victory of tying Bruce Pearl for the all-time lead in victories at USI. Watson is 230-74 in 10-plus seasons (2009-Present), while Pearl was 231-46 in nine seasons (1992-2001)
USI had command of most of the opening half that included a 17-point margin of 32-15 and was shooting 68.2 percent from the field (15-22) during the run. Hillsdale’s offense came to life late in the opening half when it ignited for a 16-6 run to close the gap by the end of 20 minutes to 38-31.
USI senior guard Joe Laravie led the Eagles through the opening half with 11 points on a perfect five-of-five from the field and converted his only free throw. Junior forward Emmanuel Little and junior forward Clayton Hughes followed with seven and six points, respectively.
The Eagles regained the momentum to start the second half, going on a 6-0 run to get the lead back over double-digits, 42-31, on a jumper by Little. USI re-extended the lead to 16-points, 53-37, with 15:15 left on a pair of free throws by Larvie.
Hillsdale, however, did not surrender and closed the gap with an 8-0 run (53-45) with 12:59 to play, but USI, with a big 17-8 offensive surge, tied its biggest lead of the game (17 points), 70-53. Little led the offensive push by hitting for 13 of the 17 points during the run.
The Chargers made one more dash at the Eagles in the final minutes, cutting the advantage to eight once more, 81-73, before USI closed the door for good on the 82-73 victory.
Little finished the season-opening contest with a team-high 28 points, one short of tying a career-high. He was a blistering 11-of-15 from the field and six-of-seven from the line, while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
Laravie followed with 18 points in his USI regular season debut, by hitting six-of-12 from the field, including a three-pointer, and five-of-five from the line. Hughes and sophomore forward Tyler Dancy rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and 10 points respectively. Dancy was one point shy of tying a USI career high (11 points) that he posted in last spring’s Elite Eight quarterfinal game versus the Texas A&M University.
As a team, USI shot 54.7 percent from the field (29-53), 37.5 percent from downtown (3-8), and 77.8 percent from the charity stripe (21-27). The Eagles also won the battle on the glass, 36-21.
USI concludes the G-MAC/GLVC Crossover Classic with a neutral site game with Malone University at Hillsdale. The Pioneers open the 2019-20 season when they play Oakland City University this evening.
The Eagles holds a 3-0 advantage over Malone, including last season’s 74-71 victory at the G-MAC/GLVC Crossover. Guard/forward Nate Hansen led the Eagles with 20 points, while senior guard/forward Kobe Caldwell dropped in 15 points in the win.
