ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball could not get on track and stumbled at St. Bonaventure University, 80-66, Tuesday evening at the Reilly Center in St. Bonaventure, New York. The Screaming Eagles are 2-3 after tonight’s action, while the Bonnies are 3-2.
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The Eagled spotted the Bonnies a 6-0 lead with a cool start to the offense, missing their first five shots. Senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Indiana) got the Eagles’ offense going with a dunk and a three-pointer as the deficit shrank to 8-5.
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After the St. Bonaventure pushed the lead back to 14-9, USI surged on an 11-2 run to grab its first lead of the game, 20-16. The Eagles were a perfect four-of-four during the run, including three three-point bombs, and was led by sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) with six of the points during the run to the lead.
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The Bonnies would rally back before the end of the half on a 14-4 spurt and took a 30-24 lead into the locker room. Swope would lead the Eagles through the first 20 minutes with 10 points.
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In the second half, the Bonnies extend their first half lead and never looked back. St. Bonaventure quickly extend the halftime margin to 14 points, 40-26, in the first three minutes before USI pulled back to within seven, 40-33, when junior guard Gary Solomon (Detroit, Michigan) connected on a driving layup with 15:01 to play.
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The seven-point deficit would be as close a USI would come the rest of the way as St. Bonaventure took the lead back to double-digits at 43-33. The Bonnies would lead by as many as 21 points in the second half (63-42) before settling for the 80-66 final.
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Swope and graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) would lead the Eagles in scoring with 21 points and 13 points, respectively. Swope posted his career-high 21 points on eight-of-16 from the field, three-of-seven from beyond the arc, and two-of-three from the stripe, while dishing five assists.
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Lakes recorded his 13 points on four-of-eight from the field, three-of-seven from beyond the arc, and two-of-three from the line.
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Next Up 2022-23:
USI completes action in the Gotham Classic series when it visits Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST). The game will be aired live on ESPN 97.7FM and 95.7 The Spin, in addition to being streamed live on ESPN+.
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The Falcons and the Eagles will be meeting for the first time in the history of the two programs.
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Bowling Green is 2-3 after losing to the University of Notre Dame, 82-66, Tuesday night. The Falcon were led in the guard Samari Curtis with 14 points.
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For the season, guard Leon Ayers leads the Falcons with 19.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. He is followed by Curtis with 13.8 points per game
