The University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to defeat Lewis University, 85-74, in overtime to open the 2017-18 Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule Thursday evening at the Physical Activities Center. USI watched its record to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in the GLVC, while Lewis goes to 2-5 overall, 0-1 GLVC.
The Screaming Eagles, which suffered through a 3-for-22 slump for the first 16 minutes of the second half, used a 12-1 run in the final three minutes to send the game into overtime tied, 68-68. USI junior guard Alex Stein(Evansville, Indiana) led the Eagles’ charge in the final minutes of regulation, scoring nine of his 15 points during the run.
USI found its shooting touch in the extra period, hitting five of its seven shots, and outscored Lewis, 16-7, for the win. Stein capped off a 15-1 USI run with an old fashion three-point play to give the Eagles a 71-68 margin. The 71-68 lead was the first for USI since the 17:39 mark of the second half.
After the Flyers rebounded to retake the lead briefly at 72-71, USI senior guard Marcellous Washington(Lexington, Kentucky) gave the Eagles the lead for good with a bucket with 3:20 left to play. Junior guard/forward Nate Hansen (Evansville, Indiana) put the Eagles up four points, 76-72, before freshman forward Emmanuel Little (Indianapolis, Indiana) sealed the victory for USI by making a pair of steals and a pair of baskets to make the score 80-72 with 1:40 remaining in overtime.
Washington and junior forward Jacob Norman (Evansville, Indiana) wrapped up the victory with four free throws to give the game its final score of 85-74.
In the first half, the Eagles used a 10-0 run midway through the first half to establish a seven-point lead at the intermission, 44-37. The 10-0 run erased a seven-point Lewis lead, 24-17, with 9:47 before halftime.
USI had three players in double-digits before halftime, led by Washington’s 14 points. Washington was the hottest Eagle from the field, hitting five-of-seven from the field and three-of-five from long range.
Individually for the game, Washington finished with a game-high 22 points and his third 20-point contest of the season. Hansen followed with 20 points, while Little and Stein rounded out the double-figure scorers with 18 points and 15 points, respectively.
The Eagles continued their dominance on the glass, outrebounding the Flyers, 44-32, and outrebounded its opponents during the four-game homestand, 194-114. Senior forward DayJar Dickson (Washington, D.C.) led the Eagles on the glass with nine rebounds.
The Eagles go on the road to finish the first weekend of GLVC play Saturday when they visit the University of Indianapolis. The Greyhounds, who received votes for the top 25 nationally this week, saw their record rise to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the GLVC after defeating the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, 62-52, at Somers, Wisconsin, tonight.
USI leads the all-time series with UIndy, 54-22, after falling to the Greyhounds, 81-66, last season in Indianapolis. USI guard Jeril Taylor led three Eagles in double-digits with 20 points. The Eagles are 6-4 in the last 10 games versus the Greyhounds and 16-14 all-time at Nicoson Hall against UIndy.
