CHARLESTON, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball fought hard but it was not enough as it fell at Eastern Illinois University, 91-80, Saturday afternoon in Charleston, Illinois. The Eagles go to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in the OVC, while the Panthers are 6-9, 2-0 OVC.

USI and EIU traded buckets and leads for the first 14 minutes of the opening half which featured 12 lead changes and five ties before the Eagles’ offense went cold. The Panthers held the Eagles scoreless for 2:30 while exploding on a 21-10 run to finish the half with a 44-33 advantage.

During the EIU run to the intermission, the Panthers were nine-of-11 from the field and held USI to three-of-eight.

In the second half, USI saw the deficit quickly expand to 15 points, 48-33, before it began to chip away at the deficit first. The Eagles closed the gap to six points, 52-46, on a 13-4 run when they were five-of-eight from the field and were led by four points from senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio).

EIU would re-expand the lead to as many as 23 points, 83-60, with four minutes left in the game. Junior guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) sparked an 11-0 run with six points to get USI back in the fight, 83-71, with 2:31 remaining.

USI continued to try and close the deficit, but would only come as close as 10 points, 90-80, prior to the final 91-80 buzzer.

USI had four players reach double-digits in the scoring column, led by graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) and junior guard Gary Solomon (Detroit, Michigan) post 16 points each. Solomon was the hottest Eagle in the contest, hitting six-of-seven from the field and four-of-five from the stripe.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) followed Lakes and Solomon with 14 points on five-of-seven from the field, four-of-five from long range, while Henry rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. Senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) reached double-digits for the third time in four games with 10 rebounds as USI outrebounded EIU, 33-28, as a team.

Next Up For USI:
USI stays on the road and will be making its first ever visit to Morehead State University, in Morehead, Kentucky. The games will be streamed on ESPN+ in addition to being heard on ESPN 97.7FM (http://listentotheref.com) and 95.7FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).

The Morehead Eagles are 8-7 overall and 1-1 in the OVC after falling at the University of Tennessee Martin today, 64-57, in Martin, Tennessee. Morehead was led by senior guard Mark Freeman, who had 18 points and also leads Morehead in scoring in 2022-23 with13.2 points per game.

USI falls at EIU, Moves To 1-1 In The OVC

CHARLESTON, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) posted a career-high 25 points on Saturday to surpass 1,000 points in her career. Despite the career performance, Southern Indiana (7-6, 1-1) could not pick up the road win at Eastern Illinois University (10-3, 2-0), as the Panthers claimed a 69-58 win.

Haithcock earned her 1,000^th career point with her first bucket of the game in the first quarter. She became the 20^th player in USI Women’s Basketball history to reach the 1,000-point career mark.

The game began with a slow offensive start for both teams, as the game was 3-2 Eastern Illinois nearly three and a half minutes into the game. Senior guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) scored USI’s first points of the game on a three-pointer.

Midway into the first quarter, Eastern Illinois started a small run to grab a 14-5 lead by the time the clock read less than two minutes remaining in the first. The quarter finished on a last-second bucket by junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana). EIU led 16-9 after one period of play.

The offensive basket still went unkind to USI in the second quarter. Eastern Illinois increased its lead following a 9-0 run in the middle of the period and then holding USI scoreless for the last two minutes of the first half. EIU outscored USI 22-10 in the second, as the Panthers shot over 50 percent during the quarter.

With only a pair of makes from the floor in the second quarter, USI did go a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the second quarter. Haithcock made four of USI’s six free throws in the quarter.

Eastern Illinois took a 38-19 lead into the halftime locker room. Haithcock led Southern Indiana with eight points at the break. The Screaming Eagles had a plus-seven advantage in overall rebounding and on the offensive glass after the first half.

Southern Indiana came out of halftime being assertive inside and out. Haithcock scored back-to-back buckets to get USI going to start the third quarter. Trailing by 17 with 8:35 left in the third, USI went on an 8-0 run to trim the deficit down to nine, 40-31. Halfway into the third quarter, USI received a pair of triples from sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) to make it an eight-point game, 44-36 EIU with 5:26 left in the third.

Eastern Illinois proceeded to answer with a 9-0 run to move the Panthers’ lead back to double digits, 53-36. Inside the last three minutes of the third quarter, both teams exchanged offensive baskets and Eastern Illinois took a 17-point lead to the fourth quarter, 58-41.

Southern Indiana’s seniors led a solid push for USI at the start of the fourth quarter. Within the first five minutes, Haithcock tallied five points, being aggressive inside. At the 5:53 mark, senior forward Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri) connected on a mid-range jumper while Haithcock was fouled away from the play. Haithcock completed the play at the free-throw line to make the score 64-50 EIU.

The game went scoreless over the next two and a half minutes. USI made a fightback late in the fourth quarter. Haithcock put one into the hoop with 2:27 on the clock to bring USI back within 13, 68-55. The basket gave the senior a career-best 25 points. The Screaming Eagles could not muster enough offense the rest of the way, as the Panthers registered the win Saturday afternoon.

Haithcock led all scorers on the day with 25 points on 8-16 shooting and 9-14 at the line. Haithcock was a rebound shy of a double-double. Shafford tallied 12 points with eight rebounds. Robbe matched a season-high nine points for the fourth time this season.

After a slow offensive start to the game, USI went on to shoot for 38 percent (19-50) in the game with three triples. USI was 17-for-25 at the line. The Screaming Eagles outrebounded the Panthers 37-29, including 14-9 on the offensive boards.

Eastern Illinois was led by senior guard Lariah Washington with 23 points. Sophomore guard Miah Monahan also had a good day for EIU, recording 20 points. As a team, EIU shot 45.3 percent (24-53) from the field with six threes. At the stripe, EIU went 15-for-22.

The Screaming Eagles will return to action Thursday at 4 p.m. CT from Morehead, Ky. when USI takes on Morehead State University in Ohio Valley Conference action. The game can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on 95.7 FM Th Spin (http://957thespin.com).