SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball junior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) and junior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) combined for 48 points and led the Screaming Eagles to an 81-63 victory at Drury University Thursday evening in Springfield, Missouri. USI goes to 14-5 overall and 9-4 in the GLVC, while Drury is 7-12 overall, 4-7 in the league.

Simmons got the offense rolling in the first half, hitting six of his first nine shots, and propelled the Screaming Eagles on a 20-4 run that gave them command of the opening half lead, 24-8. USI would go on to lead by a game-high 23 points, 36-13, with 3:14 until halftime and went into the locker room with a 36-17 lead.

USI, as a team, also did the job on the defensive end, holding the Panthers to 17 points on 27.6 percent (8-29) from the field.

The first buzzer sounded with Simmons posting 15 first half points on six-of-11 from the field and three-of-six from beyond the arc. Polakovich joined Simmons with double-digits and posted a double-double in the first 20 minutes on 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Eagles would cruise offensively in the second half, shooting 70.4 percent from the field (17-24), but was outscored by the Panthers, 46-45, in settling for the 81-63 victory. Drury cut the 19-point USI halftime advantage to 12 points, 54-42, mid-way through the final, but that would be as close as the Panthers would come to the Eagles.

USI regained total control of the game in the final 10 minutes, outscoring Drury 27-21. Polakovich guided the way to the final buzzer, scoring 12 of USI’s final 27 points.

The way to the USI victory also came through hustle as the Eagles recorded a commanding 41-25 lead on the glass.

Individually, Polakovich finished with a game-high 26 points by dropping in 16 second half points and adding three boards for a game-high 13 rebounds. The junior forward was a blistering 13-of-17 from the field to produce his 26 points.

Simmons followed with a season-high 22 points by tallying seven additional points in the final 20 minutes. He finished nine-of-16 from the field and four-of-nine from beyond the arc.

Sophomore guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. Henry reached double-digits in the second half by being perfect – two-of-two from the field, one-of-one from three-point range, and three-of-three from the stripe.

COMING UP FOR USI:
USI complete the two-game road swing Saturday when it visits GLVC West Division leading Southwest Baptist University for a 3 p.m. tipoff in Bolivar, Missouri. The Bearcats, who have won five-straight, are 16-4 overall and 10-3 in the GLVC after defeating the University of Indianapolis, 72-62, this evening at home.

The Bearcats hold a one-game lead in the season series, 3-2, after defeating USI in January, 65-61, at Screaming Eagles Arena. The teams have alternated wins in the five games of the series, dating back to 1984.

The Eagles come back to Screaming Eagles Arena next week to host Maryville University February 17 and Missouri University of Science & Technology February 19.

Aces drop double overtime contest against Sycamores

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Career efforts by Blaise Beauchamp and Blake Sisley highlighted a wild game at the Ford Center on Thursday, which saw Indiana State finish with an 80-77 double overtime win against the University of Evansville men’s basketball team.

Beauchamp erupted for 29 points in a game that saw him drill six triple for the Purple Aces (6-17, 2-10 MVC).  Sisley finished with a career-best 17 points in an efficient 6-for-8 shooting performance.  He added five rebounds.  Shamar Givance finished the night with 18 points while Evan Kuhlman set a career mark with 7 assists.  Cooper Neese paced the Sycamores (10-14, 3-9 MVC) with 35 points.  He converted 12 of his 24 field goal tries.

“We had some good production from a lot of our guys.  Our younger guys got some valuable experience and really raised their level of play,” Aces head coach Todd Lickliter said.  “The ball really moved around a lot better in the second half and was similar to how we played up at their place.  Indiana State made a few runs on us and we found ways to get stops and come back.  We’re right there; we just needed one more stop or one more basket.”

Over the first 20 minutes, it was runs by both teams that highlighted the action.  After Evansville posted the opening three points on free throws by Shamar Givance, Indiana State scored nine in a row to take their first edge of the night.  UE started the game just 1-of-11 from the field, but got on track after ISU extended the lead to 15-6.

Givance got things rolling with a layup before Blake Sisley connected from downtown to cut the deficit to four.  Evan Kuhlman continued the run with a free throw before Givance found Sisley open for the second long ball of the night to tie the score at 15-15 just past the halfway point.  Following a Sycamore turnover, Sisley converted his third field goal of the night to put UE back on top at 17-15.

Making his second start in a row, Blaise Beauchamp found the scoresheet with back-to-back triples to push the lead to 23-16.  The first was a shot that he launched right at the end of the shot clock.  Beauchamp made it eight points in a row with a layup at the 5:15 mark to make it a 25-18 game.

Indiana State responded by scoring the final eight points of the period to jump back in front at 26-25 entering halftime.  Evansville missed its final six attempts of the half as the Sycamores made their comeback.

ISU’s run continued in the early moments of the second half as they extended the lead back to seven points at 37-30 with the game entering the final 14 minutes of regulation.  Just as they did in the opening stanza, the Aces responded with a 12-4 stretch to go back on top.  Five in a row by Sisley cut the deficit to a pair before Beauchamp hit a triple with 10:42 remaining to give Evansville its first lead of the second half.

Beauchamp’s career night continued when a pair of free throws at the 5:02 mark solidified a 54-50 advantage.  With UE holding onto a 56-53 lead a minute later, the Sycamores rallied, scoring the next five to go up 58-56 with under two minutes on the clock.  After a Givance free throw, Beauchamp drained a triple with 56 ticks showing to put UE back in front at 60-58, but a pair of ISU free throws knotted the score.  A blocked shot with 30 seconds left gave the Sycamores the final shot and a 3-point try by Cooper Neese hit every part of the rim before bouncing out, forcing overtime.

Right out of the gate, ISU posted five points to take the early OT advantage.  ISU remained on top by four with 2:17 showing before rallied once again.  Preston Phillips dunked it with 26 seconds left to tie it up and a Sycamore miss forced a second extra period knotted at 69-69.  Just as they did in the first OT, ISU reeled off five in a row to go in front.  It took just over four minutes, but the Aces clawed their way back to tie it at 74-74 with 58 seconds left on a Sisley free throw.  The teams swapped layups to make it a 76-76 contest before a pair of ISU free throws with 10 second left gave them the lead for good before finishing with the 80-77 win.

Evansville’s busy stretch comes to a close on Saturday with a 7 p.m. game at Southern Illinois.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.–University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball committed a season-high 31 turnovers as the No. 17/25 Screaming Eagles suffered a 77-58 Great Lakes Valley Conference road loss to No. 9/25 Drury University Thursday evening.
 
USI (17-4, 11-2 GLVC), which saw a five-game winning streak come to an end, jumped out to an 8-0 lead early in the contest. The Eagles, however, went just 1-of-7 (.143) from the floor and committed eight turnovers throughout the final seven minutes of the first quarter as the Panthers went on a 22-5 run to take a 22-13 lead into the second period.
 
Drury (23-3, 13-2 GLVC), which was aided by the return of the NCAA Division II Player of the Year in senior guard Paige Robinson, opened the second period with a 10-4 run as it extended its advantage to 15.
 
The Eagles rallied at the end of the half, using a 9-2 run to cut Drury’s advantage to 40-32 at the break.
 
USI kept pace with Drury throughout the first five minutes of the third quarter, but a 14-5 Drury run to end the period put the Panthers in front, 61-44, heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.
 
Fifth-year senior guard Emma DeHart (Indianapolis, Indiana), senior forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) and junior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) each had 11 points to lead the Eagles, who outshot and out-rebounded the Panthers.
 
Robinson, who had missed the previous 12 games due to injury, wasted little time getting reacclimated to competition as she scored 17 of her game-high 23 points in the first 20 minutes. Fifth-year senior guard Kaylee DaMitz added 16 points for the Panthers, who outscored USI 38-11 in points off turnovers.
 
USI returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. when it travels to Bolivar, Missouri, to take on Southwest Baptist University. The Bearcats (13-10, 8-7 GLVC) earned a 70-66 home win over the University of Indianapolis Thursday evening.