In a classic battle between two long-time rivals, University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball defeated Kentucky Wesleyan College, 85-81, on the final night of the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic Friday at the Ford Center. USI sees its record go to 3-0 overall, while KWC goes to 2-1.
The Screaming Eagles controlled a majority of the first half and took a 42-39 lead into the locker room at halftime. USI posted its largest lead of the half, 10 points, at 9:28 when sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) hit a pair of free throws to make the score, 26-16.
KWC rallied to cut to lead to two points, 34-32, with 3:53 left until the intermission and before USI settled for the three-point margin at the end of the first 20 minutes.
The Eagles were lead in the opening stanza by Stein and senior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) with 12 points each.
In the second half, USI built upon its halftime lead and methodically extended the margin to 14 points, 63-49, with11:28 left to play. Taylor was the catalyst for USI offensive spurt, scoring nine of USI’s 21 points during the run up to the 14-point lead.
The Panther, however, were not about to go quietly, rallying to close the gap and regain the lead, 79-78, with 57.7 seconds left. Taylor gave USI’s reply by sinking a three-pointer with 53 ticks left to give the Eagles back the lead, 81-79, and drained four-straight free throws to seal the win.
Taylor, the SCB Hall of Fame Classic Most Valuable Player, posted a game-high 31 points, reaching the 30-point plateau for the second-straight game and the fourth-time in two seasons. He was 10-of-21 from the field, six-of-11 from beyond the arc, and five-of-six from the charity stripe.
Stein joined Taylor on the classic’s All-Tournament team and followed him in the scoring column with 22 points, hitting five-of-13 from the field and 12-of-14 from the line.
USI will be idle until December 1 when it begins Great Lakes Valley Conference play at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois. The Eagles finish the first weekend of GLVC play December 3 when they visit the University of Illinois Springfield.
In the first SCB Hall of Fame Classic game on Friday, third-ranked University of Alabama-Huntsville defeated second-ranked Lincoln Memorial University, 91-67, while 12th-ranked Bellarmine University defeated Florida Southern College, 97-61.
