University of Southern Indiana senior forward Emmanuel Little and junior guard Jelani Simmons combined for 35 second half points to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 74-65 victory over Lewis University Thursday evening in Romeoville, Illinois. USI, which increases its lead in the GLVC East Division with the win, sees its record to go 6-3 this season, while Lewis ends the evening 6-5.
The Screaming Eagles rained three-point field goals down on the Flyers to get the contest underway. Simmons kicked off the scoring with a three from the right corner before senior forward Josh Price hit a long-range jumper from the top of the key and senior guard/forward Clayton Hughes also deposited bomb from the right side in the opening minutes.
USI had the early 3-0 and 9-5 advantages in the first three minutes, but went cold for three minutes and allowed Lewis to build a 14-9 lead on a 9-0 run. The Eagles clawed their way back in and regained the advantage briefly when senior guard Mateo Rivera sank back-to-back free throws with 6:27 remaining the first 20 minutes.
After trading buckets and the leads, Lewis surged to a 38-30 lead at the break on an 11-2 run in the final five minutes of the half. Price led the Eagles in the scoring column during the opening half with 11 points.
The second half belonged to Little, Simmons and the Eagles.
Little, who had just two points in the opening half, scored the first nine Eagle points after halftime as USI narrowed the gap to six points, 45-39, with 15:26 on the clock. Price got the Eagles to within two, 45-43, with a bucket at 14:45 and a pair of free throws at 13:54 before Simmons went to work.
Simmons knotted the game at 45-45 with a layup at 12:56 and capped off an 18-6 USI surge at 12:02 by dropping in his third three-point bomb to give the Eagles the lead, 48-45.
The Eagles increased the lead to five points, 50-45, before the Flyers tied the game for the final time at the midway point of the second half, 50-50. Rivera broke the tie with 9:15 remaining when he sank a three-pointer and ignited an 11-3 surge that gave USI command of the contest.
Lewis, however, scored six quick points to close the margin to 61-59 with four minutes to play. Little coolly went to the stripe and sank four-straight free throws before Simmons drained a three and hit a pair of charity shots to put USI up, 70-63, as the Eagles began to close the door on the victory.
Little would hit two more free throws with 28 seconds left, followed by Simmons hitting another pair with 18 second on the clock to seal the 74-65 victory.
USI finished off the comeback by holding the Flyers to 27 percent from the field (10-of-27) and outscoring Lewis, 44-27, in the final 20 minutes. The Eagles also won the battle on the boards, 44-34.
Simmons and Little led three players in double-digits and only six players to score in the victory. Simmons, who was two points shy of tying a season-high, had with 18 second half points and finished with a game-high 24 on seven-of-13 from the field, a blistering six-of-10 from beyond the arc, and four-of-four from the line.
Little, who had 17 in the final half, followed with 19 points on five-of-14 from the field and nine-of-10 from the stripe. The senior forward also had nine rebounds to tie Price for the team-high.
Price rounded out the double-digit scorers with 17 points after posting 11 in the opening frame. He was seven-of-12 from the field, one-of-two from long range, and two-of-two from the line.
USI concludes the final portion of the road trip with a visit to the University of Illinois Springfield Saturday at 3 p.m.
Illinois Springfield saw its record rise to 6-5 after posting a 76-53 victory tonight over McKendree University at home. The Prairie Stars are 1-1 this week after starting the week with a 75-74 loss at home to the University of Indianapolis.
The Eagles hold a commanding 13-4 overall record versus Illinois Springfield, including the last three meetings. The Eagles were led in last year’s 71-62 win on the road by Price, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Little, who posted 11 points and 11 rebounds.
