University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball junior forward Emmanuel Little  and junior guard Mateo Rivera combined for 43 points in leading the Screaming Eagles to a 72-61 victory over Maryville University Thursday evening in St. Louis, Missouri.  USI goes to 16-5 overall and 8-5 in the GLVC, while Maryville finishes the evening 4-16, 0-13 GLVC.
The Eagles had a rough first half and found themselves down seven points at the halftime buzzer. USI, which trailed by as many as nine points (36-27) just before the intermission, struggled with seven first half turnovers.
A bright spot in the opening half was the play for Little, who had a team-best 11 points. Little was five-of-nine from the field, including his first three-point field of the season.
Maryville continued to have USI’s number to start the second half, extending its lead to nine points, 38-29, with the opening bucket after halftime. The Eagles began to chip away at the deficit and finally closed to with two points, 45-43, on a three-point bomb by junior guard/forward Clayton Hughes with 12:36 on the clock.
USI knotted game at 50-50 on a layup by Little at the 8:49 mark before junior forward Josh Price put USI back into the lead for the first time since the first bucket of the game, 52-50, with 7:52 remaining. Maryville would grab the lead back once more, 53-52, ahead of Price hitting a pair of free throws to put the Eagles in the lead for good with 7:04 left, 54-53.
Rivera and Little took over at that point to lead the Eagles down the stretch, combining for 16 of USI’s final 18 point in an 18-8 run to the finish. Rivera had 10 points in the run, while Little dropped in six before senior guard/forward Kobe Caldwell got the final bucket in the 72-61 victory.
Individually, Little reached 20-or-more points for the second-straight game with a game-high 24. He was 11-of-16 from the field, one-of-one from long range, and one-of-four from the line.
Rivera reached a season-high with 19 points, scoring 14 in the second half. The junior guard was a blistering six-of-nine during the second half comeback, two-of-three from behind the arc.
Price rounded out the double-digits scorers for the Eagles with 10 points and tied Rivera for the team-lead with eight rebounds.
USI concludes its longest road trip of the season with a visit to Missouri University of Science & Technology. The Miners saw their record to 5-14 overall and 3-10 in the GLVC after upsetting McKendree University, 73-71, this evening at home in Rolla, Missouri, snapping a four-game losing streak.
The Eagles have a 17-3 all-time series lead over Missouri S&T, 7-1 in games in Rolla. USI won the only meeting last year, 96-64, at the Physical Activities Center, highlighted by a double-double by Little with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
