OWENSBORO, Ky. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball needed extra time in the Sports Center to bring home the “Battle of the Bridge” trophy by defeating Kentucky Wesleyan College, 85-80, Wednesday evening in Owensboro, Kentucky. USI, ranked 17th nationally in the D2SIDA Top 25 poll, goes to 2-1, while KWC falls to 3-2.
The Screaming Eagles traded leads with the Panthers through the first six minutes of the contest until they took their largest lead of the half, 18-10, at 11:04 after a 9-0 run. KWC returned the favor with a 13-5 surge to knot the contest at 23-23 with 7:27 left before the break.
The Panthers would continue the run until they built a 37-30 margin for their largest lead of the half. USI would close the gap in the final minutes before halftime, but still trailed, 42-36.
Junior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) led the Eagles during the opening 20 minutes with 10 points.
In the second half, USI continued to trail and found itself down eight, 57-49, midway through the final 20 minutes. The Eagles’ offense launched a 13-4 run to regain the lead, 62-61, when junior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) dropped in a lay-up with 2:49 left.
USI and KWC traded buckets for the final two minutes of regulation with neither gaining the advantage as the contest when to overtime.
In the extra period, USI outscored KWC, 16-11, as the Eagle outlasted the Panthers for the victory. Senior guard Mateo Rivera (Indianapolis, Indiana) gave the Eagles the lead for good with a three-point bomb to make the score 74-71 with 2:56 remaining in overtime and led the Eagles with five points in overitime.
Rivera led the Eagles overall with 16 points, hitting five-of-eight from the field, three-of-four from long range, and three-of-four from the stripe. Simmons followed with 15 points, adding five points in the second half.
Sophomore guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) and freshman guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) dropped in 12 points and 11 points, respectively, to round out the double-figure scorers.
COMING UP FOR USI:
USI returns to the friendly surroundings of Screaming Eagles Arena Monday to open the 2021-22 Great Lakes Valley Conference season versus the University of Indianapolis. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m., following the USI Women’s Basketball game at 5:30 p.m.
The Eagles hold a 59-25 all-time series lead over the Greyhounds of the University of Indianapolis, dating back to the 1972-73 season. USI won last season’s match-up 80-75 at Screaming Eagles Arena and five of the last five match-ups.
UIndy is 3-2 to start the 2021-22 campaign after completing a sweep in the UIndy Thanksgiving Classic Tuesday and Wednesday. The Greyhounds posted a 90-41 win over Ohio Valley University Tuesday and a 91-85 win versus Northwood University Wednesday afternoon.
USI IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS:
