EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball ran out of time and lost to Bowling Green State University, 54-52, Saturday afternoon at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles slide to 2-7 after today’s action, while the Falcons are 5-3 this season.
The Eagles and the Falcons traded buckets and leads through the first eight minutes of the game, until Bowling Green used an 8-0 run to take a 15-9 lead with 8:41 left.
A pair of buckets by sophomore guard Jack Campion (Milton, Wisconsin) sparked a 10-4 run by the Eagles to knot the game 19-19 with 3:41 left in the half. The USI run would extend to 19-6 as the Eagles took a 28-21 lead into halftime after junior forward Jack Mielke (Downers Grove, Illinois) and junior guard Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute of the half.
Hernandez led the USI charge to the halftime lead with seven points, five coming during the late first half the run. Campion, Mielke, and sophomore forward Kiyron Powell (Evansville, Indiana) had six points each to follow Hernandez in the scoring column. Powell also led the Eagles defensively with three first half blocks.
In the second half, USI and Bowling Green came out sluggish on the offensive ends with both teams combining for one-of-11 from the field. The Falcons’ offense would spark with a 6-0 run to regain the lead, 34-33, with 10:59 to play in the game.
After trading leads over the next three minutes, Bowling Green took the lead for good with 7:59 to play, 38-37, and built a six-point lead with 2:20 remaining, 51-45. USI tried to rally, cutting the deficit to one point at  51-50 on a free throw by Powell and 53-52 on a pair of charity shots by Campion, but could not get a game tying shot off in the final second before falling 54-52.
Hernandez had a chance to send the game into overtime, hitting a shot from the left corner, but time had expired.
For the game, Hernandez led USI with 15 points in the game. Powell, who recorded his first USI double-double with a team-best 10 rebounds, and Mielke followed Hernandez in the scoring column with 11 points each.
Next Up For USI:
The homestand concludes December 6 versus Purdue University Fort Wayne. Tipoff against Ft. Wayne is slated for 7 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne is 7-1 this season after defeating Oakland University, 98-77, today on the road. The Mastodons, who began the season with five-straight victories, started the week with a 75-71 win over the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay at home Wednesday.
