EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball rallied late in the second half and overtime to defeat Indiana State University in overtime, 88-85, Sunday afternoon at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles, who are 2-0 against Missouri Valley Conference opponents this season, are 5-5 after today’s action, while the Sycamores are 9-2.
 
The first five minutes of the saw the Eagles and the Sycamores trade runs, looking for control. USI started the game with a 5-0 sprint before Indiana State used a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 9-5. The teams would continue to trade buckets until 8:55 with the contest tied, 21-21.
 
The Eagles surged with a13-7 to post their largest lead of the game, 34-28, on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana). USI was five-of-nine during the run, including three-of-four from beyond the arc.
 
The Sycamores would climb back into the contest with an 8-0 run to regain the lead, 36-34, with 1:57 left before the Eagles scored the final six points of the half. Swope, who had 12 first half points, sent the Eagles into the locker room with a 40-36 advantage on back-to-back three-point field goals in the final 90 seconds before halftime. The first half featured eight lead changes and five ties.
 
The second half did not start in favor of the Eagles as the Sycamores scored nine of the first 11 points to regain the advantage, 44-42. Indiana State’s second half surge would extend the lead to 10 points, 57-47, with 11:32 remaining.
 
Indiana State would hold onto the double-digit lead until the final six minutes of regulation when USI, trailing by 11 points (69-58) mounted a19-8 comeback to tie the game at 77-77 when Swope drained a three-point bomb with 35 seconds left. Swope and graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) led the USI comeback with seven points each as the Eagles were six-of-seven from the field and three-of-four from beyond the arc as a team during the rally.
 
In overtime, USI scored the first four points to take a quick, 81-77 advantage before the Sycamores railed to regain the lead, 84-82, with 1:30 left. The Eagles would take advantage of trips to the free throw line to jump back into the lead. Senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) tied the game at 84-84 with 1:09 left, while junior guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) gave USI the lead for good with a pair of charity shots with 54 ticks left on the clock.
 
Swope would seal the victory in two more trips to the line. He would make one of two at 33 seconds and eight seconds for the 88-85 victory.
 
In the scoring column, Swope led five players in double-digits with a career-high 28 points. He was a blistering eight-of-12 from the field, eight-of-nine from downtown, and four-of-eight from the line. The sophomore also had a team-high four assists.
 
Lakes and junior guard Gary Solomon (Detroit, Michigan) followed Swope in the scoring column with 15 points each. Lakes also completed his first double-double of the year with 12 rebounds.
 
Polakovich dropped in 14 points and completed his second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds, while Henry rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

HILLSBORO, Mo. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers were on the road Saturday afternoon in a rematch of an early season meeting with the Lady Vikings of Jefferson College.

The Lady Blazers trailed by as many as 28 before rallying back in the fourth quarter but ultimately ran out of time as the Lady Vikings got their revenge on their home floor winning over VU 60-56.

Vincennes got off to a quick start at Jefferson, jumping out to an early five-point lead before the host Vikings quickly rallied back to take the lead.

VU would battle until Jefferson ended the first quarter on a 10-0 scoring run, giving the Lady Vikings a 24-14 advantage after the first 10 minutes of play.

Vincennes looked to try to eat away at the deficit but were unable to put together a scoring run in the second quarter as Jefferson College closed out the first half on an 8-0 scoring run to take a 41-24 lead into the locker room.

The Vikings continued to add to their lead in the second half, out scoring the Lady Blazers 16-5 to start the third quarter, growing their lead to 57-29.

Vincennes would chip away at this deficit before entering the fourth quarter however, using a 6-1 scoring run to head into the fourth quarter trailing 58-35.

The VU defense really picked up in the fourth quarter as Vincennes worked their way back into the game by opening the final period with 17 unanswered points.

Jefferson College was finally able to get a basket to go down with 41 seconds left to play, their first field goal since the 2:56 mark in the third quarter, meaning the Lady Blazers held the Lady Vikings without a basket for a stretch of 12 minutes and 15 seconds.

Vincennes continued to rally late, cutting the deficit to four points but just ran out of time as VU fell to the host Lady Vikings by the final score of 60-56.

The Lady Trailblazers outscored Jefferson College 21-2 in the fourth quarter Saturday, the fewest points a VU Lady Trailblazer team has allowed in a quarter since December of 2018.

Saturday marks the sixth time the Lady Blazers have held a team to just two points in a quarter since the NJCAA switched to quarters in women’s basketball in 2015.

VU just missed setting a new school record with this quarter, Vincennes allowed Olive-Harvey to score just a single point in the second quarter in their meeting on Nov. 3, 2018.

The Lady Blazers were led offensively off the bench by sophomore Chanice Willis (Champaign, Ill.), who scored 13 of her team-high 15 points in the second half, while also leading the Blazers with six steals and dishing out three assists.

 

Evansville, In.:  It was a great night for children’s charities as the Thunderbolts’ annual Teddy Bear Toss saw thousands of stuffed animals rain down onto the ice, however the Thunderbolts were defeated in the game by Vermilion County 4-2 on Saturday night at Ford Center.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, December 17^th against the Quad City Storm at 7:00pm CT.  For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.

In the 1^st period, Gianni Vitali scored at 14:50 on the power play to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.  Only 1:23 later at 16:13, Scott Kirton tied the game back up from Mike Ferraro and Brendan Harrogate to begin the onslaught of stuffed animals onto the ice.  Late in the 2^nd period, Austin Albrecht scored on a breakaway chance at 15:59 to put Vermilion County back in front, 2-1.  A pair of early goals in the 3^rd period sealed the game for the Bobcats, as David Kirkendall scored on the power play at 1:59, and Albrecht scored again at 7:58 to make it 4-1.  Late in regulation, Felix Sasser scored a power play goal from Ferraro and Cameron Cook at 15:23 to pull the Thunderbolts back within two, but it would be too little too late as the Bobcats won 4-2.

Kirton and Sasser scored one goal each, Ferraro tallied two assists, and Trevor Gorsuch stopped 28 of 32 shots faced in net.  These two teams meet again on January 20^th at the David S. Palmer Arena.

CHICAGO, Ill. – The No. 6-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers overcame some early struggles Saturday afternoon against Harry S. Truman College before pulling away late in the second half to pick up the 94-60 victory at Richard J. Daley College.

Vincennes looked to set the tone early, jumping out to an early 14-8 lead, before extending to their largest lead of the half at 28-17.

Harry S. Truman battled back to cut the deficit to five before VU closed out the first half on a 4-0 run to take a nine-point lead into the locker room, 34-25.

The short-handed Falcons, who only had five active players, looked to make a run to start the second half, but a 17-4 scoring run by the Trailblazers ballooned the VU lead to 70-44.

The Trailblazers found a group on the floor that worked as VU used a late 8-0 run to seal the game as VU pulled away to a 94-60 win, their 14th straight victory to begin the season.

“I thought we were pretty sloppy for 25 minutes,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “Plus you combine sloppy with not being able to hit shots, so at some point we have to find somebody that can hit shots. In the last 15 minutes we hit some shots. We got a little sharper and quit subbing. We found a group, stayed with that group and that group responded better. We still have a lot of room to go, but it was better.”

“Hats off to Truman,” Franklin added. “They played hard. Coach Cooksey had them ready to play. They did what they could. They stretched us. They had some guys that can do some things with the ball and hurt you and the other guys can hit a shot if you come off of them and they played to that all night.”

“We just didn’t put the ball in the basket or move the ball clean and sharp for the first 25 minutes,” Franklin said. “There’s a lot of room to improve on the last 15 minutes, but the last 15 I thought we were better. I stopped subbing. I found a group that I thought gave me a positive vibe and I stayed with that group. Sometimes it wasn’t perfect. Sometimes it wasn’t great. But it was positive and it’s amazing what happens.”

Vincennes was led offensively by sophomore Caleb Johnson (N. Preston, Nova Scotia) who came through with a big second half, scoring 23 of his game-high 27 points in the final period of play.

Johnson also recorded his first double-double of his Trailblazer career with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Sophomore Tasos Cook (Columbus, Ohio) finished with 21 points, while also dishing out a team-high six assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Freshman Kale Gaither (Madisonville, Ky.) came off the bench to reach double-figures, ending with 11 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Freshmen Kris King (Washington, D.C.) and Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) each just missed a double-double, with Osei-Bonsu ending with nine points and 10 rebounds and King ending with nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.

Aces have 11 days until next contest

 MIUNCIE, Ind. – Three days after setting his career scoring mark against Campbell, Marvin Coleman II had another strong effort, scoring 17 points as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team fell by an 88-69 final to Ball State on Saturday inside Wortham Arena.

Coleman went 3-for-4 from outside while tying for the team lead with three assists and posting a team-best two steals.  Kenny Strawbridge Jr. totaled 15 points and 8 rebounds while Antoine Smith Jr. drained four triples on his way to 14 points and 7 caroms.  Preston Phillips tied his career scoring mark with 9 points while hauling in 9 boards.

“We knew we had to defend without fouling and it really set the tone.  To give up 21 free throws in the first half, you tend to give up your aggression and we need to be more disciplined without fouling,” UE head coach David Ragland explained.  “We told our guys to do a better job of playing hands free.  Over the last week, we have been able to be more diligent with our time and get extra shots up.  It has helped to get extra rest and treatment.”

Jaylin Sellers paced the Cardinals with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting while Payton Sparks picked up a double-double.  He registered 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.  As a team, BSU was 31-of-40 from the line.

Strawbridge hit a jumper that gave Evansville a 3-0 lead to open the game.  Ball State responded with eight in a row as a pair of triples found the bottom of the net to give them an 8-3 lead.  Yacine Toumi ended the run when he drove to the basket for a field goal before the Cardinals added to the advantage.

Two free throws put BSU up 17-10 at the 12-minute mark before Evansville used the long ball to get right back in it.  Preston Phillips and Antoine Smith Jr. drained back-to-back triples to make it a 1-point game.  Over the next six minutes, Ball State slowly took control.  Their defense held UE to 0-of-9 shooting with two turnovers.  On the offensive end, BSU scored 11 in a row to go up 28-16 with five minutes to go in the half.

Marvin Coleman II hit his second triple of the day to cut into the deficit before the Cardinals pushed the lead to 42-28 at the break as they shot 50% including a 4-of-7 showing from outside.

Things continued to go Ball State’s way in the second half as they scored eight of the first nine points before extending the lead to 22 when a triple made it 56-34 with just under 15 minutes remaining.  Gabe Spinelli connected on the first 3-pointer of his career in the early moments of the period.

Evansville never gave up and shot its way back into contention.  An 11-2 rally included a pair of 3-pointers from Smith along with five points from Coleman.  His third triple of the afternoon made it a 58-45 game at the 11:45 mark.  Ball State came back with five in a row and would see their lead grow even more.

Coleman knocked down two free throws following a BSU technical to temporarily stop the run, but the Cardinals continued to cruise.  With under five minutes remaining, they went up by an 83-55 score.  UE continued to battle back in the final minutes, getting as close as 16 (85-69) before the game finished with an 88-69 BSU victory.

Ball State shot 44.4% in the game while going 9-for-19 (47.4%) from outside.  Evansville completed the day shooting 39.0% while going 9-of-18 from 3-point range.

With final exams set for this week, the Aces will have some time off before returning to the floor on December 21 with a home game against Bellarmine.