University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball rode out a storm by Lake Erie College and posted a season-opening win, 90-77, Saturday afternoon in the first day of the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge hosted by the University of Indianapolis. USI (1-0) starts the season with win for 31st-straight year, while Lake Erie begins 2016-17, 0-1.
USI completes action in the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge Sunday at 1:15 p.m. (CST) when they play Ashland University. Ashland began its season in the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge this evening against host UIndy in the nightcap.
In the first half, junior forward Julius Rajala (Finland) scored six of the first nine points of the season for the Screaming Eagles to give USI an early 9-4 lead. Lake Erie responded with a 15-3 run to lead 19-12 before USI could swing the momentum back in its direction.
The Eagles took control with 12:18 left in the opening half, going on a 28-12 run of their own to build the largest margin of the first 20 minutes, 40-31. US would add a three-pointer by senior guard Cortez Macklin (Louisville, Kentucky) to go into the locker room with a 43-38 lead at the intermission.
Rajala was dominating during the opening half with 17 points, hitting six-of-seven from the field and five-of-five from the free throw line. USI, as a team, shot 51.9 percent from the field (14-27), 41.7 percent from beyond the arc (5-12), and 83.3 percent from the line (10-12).
In the second half, USI quickly raced out to an 11-point lead, 51-40, before Lake Erie stormed back to pull to within two points, 52-50, with 14 minutes left. The Eagles responded with an 11-1 run of their own to take control for good, 63-51.
USI would cruise the rest of the way, building its largest lead of the game, 16 points, 75-59. The Storm would pull to within 10 points, 87-77, with 1:54 remaining before the Eagles closed out the win, 90-77.
Individually, Rajala led the way for the Eagles with a team-high 29 points, hitting 11-of-13 from the field and seven-of-seven from the line. He also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) followed with 19 points, 17 coming in the second half after hitting 15-of-16 from the line. Macklin rounded out the USI double-figure scorers with 11 points, including a team-high three three-point field goals.
As a team, USI shot 56.8 percent from the field (25-44), a blistering 64.7 percent in the second half (11-17). The Eagles also did the job at the charity stripe, converting 84.6 percent from the line (33-39), and won the battle on the boards, 35-21.
