USI is 13th in NABC poll; 15th in D2SIDA poll
 The 13th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team wore down a pesky Ohio Valley University squad Tuesday evening for a 91-68 victory at the Screaming Eagles Arena. USI goes to 4-0 overall, while OVU is 0-4 in 2019-20.
After trading buckets and leads for the first six minutes of the game, the Eagles took command with a 13-0 run to lead 23-11 with 9:58 left in the opening half. USI junior forward Emmanuel Little, junior guard Braden Fitzjerrells, and junior forward Josh Price led the run with four points each as the Eagles hit six-of-nine from the field during the surge.
USI extended its lead to as many as 13 points, 28-15, when Little hit a jumper with 8:38 left in the opening 20 minutes. The Fighting Scots, however, were not done as they went on a 20-9 run to cut the Eagles advantage to two points, 37-35.
The Eagles rebounded in the final two minutes of the half to re-extend the lead to seven points, 45-38. Freshman guard Chance Coyle led USI offensively in the opening half with 14 points on a blistering five-of-seven from the field and three-of-five from beyond the arc.
In the second half, USI’s lead shrank to two points, 55-53, before the Eagles exploded on an 18-3 run over the next five minutes to extend the margin to 17 points, 73-56, with 8:13 remaining. Price and junior guard/forward Clayton Hughes led the explosion with six points each as the Eagles put the game on cruise control.
The Eagles would go on to lead by as many as 26 points, 89-63, before settling for the 91-68 final.
Individually, Price led five USI players in double-digits with a career-high 25 points. The junior forward, who also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, was nine-of-14 from the field and a perfect seven-of-seven from the line,.
Little followed Price in the scoring column with 22 points on 10-of-15 from the field and two-of-two from the stripe. Coyle was next with a season-high 15 points, while senior guard Joe Laravie and Hughes rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
USI concludes its three-game homestand November 26 when it hosts Oakland City University for a 7:30 p.m. contest. OCU is 1-3 to start the campaign after breaking its season-opening losing streak with a 96-89 win over Welch College last weekend. Â The Mighty Oaks are slated to play at KWC (November 20) and at Wilberforce University (November 23) before visiting the Eagles.
The Eagles hold a 36-10 all-time record lead against Oakland City University after posting an 82-63 win at the old Physical Activities Center. USI also has won the last 13-straight over Oakland City.
Note: USI is 13th in the first National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 poll and 15th in the first D2SIDA Top 25 poll that was released today. The Eagles were as high as 13th in the preseason polls.
NABC Top 25
1. Northwest Missouri State
2. Nova Southeastern (Fla.)
3. Bellarmine (Ky.)
4. UC San Diego
5. West Texas A&M
6. Queens (N.C.)
7. Missouri Southern
8. Indiana (Pa.)
9. Valdosta State (Ga.)
10. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)
11. Alabama Huntsville
12. St. Edward’s (Texas)
13. Southern Indiana  Â
14. Saint Anselm (N.H.)
15. Ashland (Ohio)
16. West Liberty (W.Va.)
17. Daemen (N.Y.)
18. Florida Southern
19. Ferris State (Mich.)
20. St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.)
21. Southern Nazarene (Okla.)
22. Indianapolis (Ind.)
23. Jefferson (Pa.)
24. Point Loma (Calif.)
25. Augusta (Ga.)
D2SIDA National Media Poll
1. Northwest Missouri State
2. Nova Southeastern
3. Bellarmine
4. West Texas A&M
5. UC San Diego
6. Queens (N.C.)
7. Indiana (Pa.)
8. St. Edwards
9. Missouri Southern State
10. Daemen
11. Ferris State
12. Lincoln Memorial
13. Valdosta State
St. Anselm
15. Southern Indiana
16. Charleston
17. Alabama Huntsville
18. West Liberty
19. Azusa Pacific
20 . Florida Southern
Southern Nazarene
22. Dixie State
23. St. Thomas Aquinas
24. UNC Pembroke
25. Walsh
