The 24th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team soared to an 11-0 overall record at the holiday break with a 95-68 victory over Kentucky State University Saturday afternoon in the final day of the Bellarmine University Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. USI sees its record go to 11-0 overall for the sixth time in the history of the program, while Kentucky State is 2-8 in 2016-17.
The Screaming Eagles had to rally in the first half to post a 46-32 lead at the intermission. Senior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) took command of the game with 10:53 left in the opening half, erasing a five-point deficit (18-13) with 13-straight points in a 15-0 run as the Eagles took the lead, 28-18.
USI would outscore Kentucky State, 33-14, in the final 11 minutes of the opening half and shot a blistering 61.3 percent (19-31) in the first 20 minutes. The Eagles also had a 17-13 advantage on the glass.
In the second half, the Eagles wasted little time in racing out to a comfortable lead by extending the advantage to as many as 28 points, 71-43, with 12:25 left. Kentucky State, however, made one final run at USI and cut the margin to 16 points, 73-57, with 9:16 remaining.
The Eagles responded by rebuilding the margin back to 28 points, 95-67, with under a minute left before settling for the 95-68 victory. USI, as a team, shot 58.1 percent from the field (36-62) and 66.7 percent from the line (14-21), while outrebounding Kentucky State, 36-30.
Senior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) led four Eagles in double digits with 22 points. Taylor, who scored 12 of the 22 points in the second half, was eight-of-15 from the field, including two three-point field goals, and four-of-nine from the line.
Taylor was followed by junior forward DayJar Dickson (Washington, D.C.), who had a season-high 14 points on four-of-four from the field and six-of-eight from the line. Senior guard Cortez Macklin (Louisville, Kentucky) and Drummond rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 points each.
In addition to the double-digit scorers, junior guard Marcellous Washington (Lexington, Kentucky) matched a season-best with eight assists for the second-straight night.
After the holiday break, the season restarts for the Eagles on January 2 at 7 p.m. when they return to the friendly surroundings of the PAC to host Bluefield State University. USI also restarts the Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule next month when it hosts William Jewell College January 5 and Rockhurst University January 7.
