– University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball stumbled for the first time in 2021-22 with a 101-88 loss at Cedarville University Monday evening in Cedarville, Ohio. USI, ranked 16^th nationally in the D2SIDA Top 25 poll, begins the year 1-1, while Cedarville rises to 2-3.

The Screaming Eagles had the hot hand in the first half, hitting 57.7 percent from the field (15-26), but trailed by 12 points at the break, 55-43.The Yellow Jackets matched the Eagles in the offensive performance by hitting 77.3 percent from the field (17-22), taking advantage of 11 USI turnovers. Cedarville had a 19-13 advantage in points off turnovers during the first 20 minutes.

After the Eagles found themselves down 19 points (53-34) with two minutes left until halftime, USI went on a 9-3 run to cut into the deficit. Senior guard Trevell Cunningham (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) had all nine of the USI points to end the half and completed the first 20 minutes with a team-best 14 points.

The USI surge at the end of the first half extended into the second half as the Eagles cut the deficit to six, 57-51, with 17:17 left on the clock. Junior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) paced the start of the second half with six of the eight points to get to within six.

The Yellow Jackets responded with a run of their own, re-extending the margin to 12, 66-54, two minutes later. Cedarville would nurse the double-digit lead until after the midway point of the final half on a bucket by junior guard Myles Belyeu (Mason, Ohio) with 4:20 to pull the Eagles to within nine, 87-78. The nine-point deficit would be as close the Eagles would come the rest of the game.

USI sophomore guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) led the Eagles’ offensive attack in the second half and the game, finishing with a USI career-best 23 points. Henry, who scored all 23 of his points in the final 20 minutes, was eight-of-11 from the field, including four-of-five from long range, and three-of-three from the striple.

Cunningham was held scoreless in the second half and followed with his 14 first half points, while Simmons and senior forward Clayton Hughes (Jackson, Tennessee) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.

COMING UP FOR USI:
USI concludes a two-game road swing Wednesday when it crosses the Ohio River to play Kentucky Wesleyan College in the Owensboro Sports Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.

Kentucky Wesleyan is 3-1 after posting an 86-68 victory over East/West University Saturday at the Sports Center. The Panther started the season with a win over the University of Illinois Springfield and a loss to Lindenwood University in the opening weekend before defeating Midway University in their home opener.

USI trails in the all-time series with KWC, 49-43, but has won the last seven-straight with the Panthers. The Eagles, who have won the last three at the Owensboro Sports Center, defeated the Panthers, 82-63, to open Screaming Eagles Arena in 2019.

UE and Rice Play To Triple Overtime

 ESTERO, Fla. – In one of the most efficient games that you will ever see, Antoine Smith Jr. was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field on his way to a career-high 24 points in the opening game of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Monday at Hertz Arena.  Smith along with Jawaun Newton were the top performers for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team, who dropped a hard-fought triple overtime contest to Rice.

With the loss, UE (2-4) will take on the loser of today’s Oakland/Vermont game at 11 a.m. on Tuesday morning.  Smith’s performance included a 6-of-6 showing from 3-point range.  Newton had a career-high of his own in the game, finishing with 30 points in an effort that saw him go 12-of-25 from the field while tying for the team lead with 7 rebounds.  Evan Kuhlman and Noah Frederking also chipped in 7 boards.  Frederking finished with 16 points while Shamar Givance and Kuhlman scored 12 and 10, respectively.  Givance led the way with five assists.  Rice (4-1) was led by a 30-point, 12-rebounds game from Max Fieldder.

It was an unbelievable start for the Aces, who started the game 3-for-3 from outside with Antoine Smith Jr. and Noah Frederking draining triples to cap off a 9-2 start. Smith hit two in the early run before another at the 16:43 mark gave UE a 12-4 edge.

Rice scored five in a row to cut the deficit to a single point just over a minute later before Evansville countered with a 5-0 run of its own.  Following a second-chance basket by Evan Kuhlman, Jawaun Newton connected from downtown.  With the half nearing the midway point, UE took its first double digit lead of the day with none other than Antoine Smith Jr. getting it done.  His fourth outside make in four attempts made it a 26-16 game.

Evansville added four more to push the lead 14 points before the Owls chipped in over the final minutes.  Rice made it a 30-24 game with 5:15 on the clock before the Aces settled for a 39-29 lead at the half.  UE shot 51.7% overall and 46.7% (7/15) from outside in the opening period with Smith leading all players with 12 points.

After the Owls converted the first field goal of the second half, Smith improved his 3-point tally to 5-for-5 to put Evansville on top, 42-31.  UE’s advantage would be extended to 15 points with 14:13 left in the contest.  After a triple from Kuhlman, Jawaun Newton picked up three points the old-fashioned way to make it a 53-38 game.

The ensuing stretch belonged to Rice, who would hit their next five baskets to close the gap to four with the game entering the final 10 minutes.  Max Fiedler scored 11 in a row for Rice as they made it a 56-52 contest.  Noah Frederking drained his third trey to help UE get back on track, but the hot-shooting Owls continued a stretch of eight makes in a row to keep the Aces within two possessions.

While Rice was making its run, the Aces were putting up impressive numbers of their own, going 6-for-8 to hold a 63-57 edge with eight minutes remaining.  The next RU possession saw Travis Evee hit the 7^th 3-pointer of the day for Rice to get them back within a possession for the first time since the first half.

With 1:13 on the clock, the comeback for Rice was complete when a 3-point play tied the game at 71-71.  In the final 20 minutes, the Aces retook a 4-point lead but Rice answered both times to knot the game at 75-75 to send the game to overtime.  Two free throws to open overtime gave Rice their first lead of the game at 77-75.

Givance found Smith under the basket as Evansville opened the OT period with a make to tie it up.  That would be the first of three ties in the extra session before Evansville was able to wrestle away an 82-81 lead inside the final minute with a free throw.  With 2.3 seconds left, the Owls made one of their two free throws to send the game into a second overtime.  The second extra period saw the Owls get right on the board with a 3-point play before taking a 5-point lead.  Newton put UE on the board with his eighth field goal.  With under three minutes on the clock and trialing by four, Evan Kuhlman knocked down his second triple to get his team within one at 88-87.

Rice once again pushed its lead to four points under the 2-minute mark, but it was Newton pulling off another 3-point play to make it a 1-point game at 92-91.  Following a bucket by the Owls, it was Smith grabbing an offensive board and adding the putback to get UE within one tally.  Each time the Aces got back in it, the Owls had the answer, but with 20 ticks showing on the clock, Noah Frederking was fouled on a 3-point attempt and connected on all three tries to tie it at 96-96 and send it into the first triple overtime game for UE since 2019 against Morgan State.

Just as they did in the second overtime, Rice registered the opening five points.  Frederking’s 16^th point of the afternoon got UE on the board with 90 ticks left but on the other end, a triple by Rice was too much to overcome as the Owls finished with the 109-104 win.