EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team upset  ninth-ranked Lake Superior State University, 94-77, during the first day of the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center. USI watched its record rise to10-3 overall, while Lake Superior State goes to 11-2 in 2017-18 campaign.

The Screaming Eagles were looking to make up ground for a majority of the opening half, trailing by as many as eight points twice. USI rebounded to take the lead, 32-30 with a 13-4 run before Lake Superior State scored six of the last eight points of the half to take a 36-34 lead into the intermission.

USI senior forward Julius Rajala (Helsinki, Finland) paced the Eagles during the first 20 minutes with 10 points, while junior guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) followed with nine points. The Eagles struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 18.2 percent from long range (2-11).

The Lakers got off to a fast start to begin the second half and extend their halftime lead to nine points, 45-36, with a 9-2 run. USI responded when Stein scored nine points to lead a 21-11 surge to take its first lead of the second half, 57-56, with 8:56 remaining when junior guard/forward Nate Hansen (Evansville, Indiana) converted an old-fashion three-point play.

After Lake Superior State regained the lead briefly, 58-57, it was all USI the remainder of the game. The Eagles took control with a 22-7 run to lead by 15 points, 79-64, heading into the final four minutes of the contest.

In the final four minutes, USI’s lead would not shrink below 11 points as the Eagles converted on 15 of 18 trips to the free throw line to seal the 94-77 victory. USI set a single game record with 44 free throws made, including 33 in a row.

The Eagles were a blistering 63.2 percent from the field (12-19) during the second half, 66.7 percent from (4-6). USI also won the battle on the glass, 43-27, in the contest.

Individually, Stein finished with a game and season-high 31 points, 22 coming in the second half. The junior guard, who reached 30 or more points in a game for the third time in his career, ended the game seven-of-12 from the field, three-of-five from beyond the arc, and a perfect 14-of-14 from the stripe.

Stein’s perfect 14-of-14 at line is the best single-game free throw performance (passing Marc Hostetters 13-of-13 versus the University of Indianapolis in 1997) and has established a new USI mark of 45 consecutive free throws made (passing Geoff Van Winkles 44 between 2005-06 and 2006-07).

Following Stein in the scoring column was freshman forward Emmanuel Little (Indianapolis, Indiana), who had 15 points and a game -high 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Little grabbed 12 of his season-best 13 off the defensive glass.

Joining Stein and Little in double-digit scoring were Hansen and freshman guard Mateo Rivera(Indianapolis, Indiana) with 12 points each and Rajala with 11 points.

USI will finish the 2017 calendar year and the Bill Joergens Classic Sunday at 1 p.m. when it hosts Ohio Valley University. The Fighting Scots, who are 1-7 overall, come to the PAC on a seven-game losing streak after starting the year with a victory.

The Eagles lead the all-time series with Ohio Valley, 7-0, after defeating the Fighting Scots, 103-48, in last December’s Bill Joergens Memorial Classic. The Eagles had six players in double-digits, led by guard Kyle Aiton’s 19 points.

The final game of USI’s three-game homestand is January 4 when the Eagles re-start Great Lakes Valley Conference action by hosting the University of Missouri-St. Louis at the PAC for a 7:30 p.m. contest.

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Despite mounting a late push to tie the game in the waning moments, the University of Evansville fell to Southern Illinois, 74-62, on Friday night in the Purple Aces’ Missouri Valley Conference-opener inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

“I think our depth got us. It was unfortunate, but I could see fatigue setting in and we started making some passes and decisions that aren’t us,” said Aces head coach Matt Ruffing. “It’s too bad because I thought we challenged them at halftime and I thought we got some really good things from them to make that push. (Southern Illinois) is a good team. For most of our players this was their first conference game. I have to give a lot of credit to them. When we made mistakes they made us pay.”

Junior guard Kerri Gasper powered the late comeback for the Aces, scoring 15 of her team-high 17 points in the final 20 minutes of action. Gasper also recorded six assists and four boards, surpassing her assist total from a season ago. Getting it done from beyond the arc, redshirt sophomore guard Marley Miller hit four three-pointers, scoring14 points, while picking up five rebounds as well. The Salukis were led by freshman Abby Brockmeyer who recorded a pair of game-highs with 27 points and 14 rebounds.

In the first quarter, a triple by Miller gave the Aces a 9-8 lead before sophomore center Kaylan Coffman increased Evansville’s advantage to three at 11-8. The Salukis responded with a 25-12 run spanning the final 11 minutes of the opening half to take a 33-23 lead into the break. During SIU’s spree, the Salukis held the Aces to just 3-12 (25%) shooting from the field and forced nine Evansville turnovers.

Coming out of the half, the Aces mounted a 12-5 run fueled by nine points by Gasper as Evansville shrank its deficit to just three at 38-35 with 6:07 left in the third period. The Aces were able to withstand a 7-15 shooting quarter from the Salukis to hold SIU’s lead to just three heading into the final frame.

Evansville continued to apply pressure on the Salukis in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as sophomore guard Macie Lively received a laser pass from Gasper and laid it in to tie the game at 58 with 5:20 remaining in the fourth quarter. After Brockmeyer put the Salukis back up by a pair, Miller drove through the lane and used her left hand to finish off the glass to tie the contest again, this time at 60. From this point, SIU took control, manufacturing a 14-2 run to close the game as the Salukis grabbed the 74-62 win.

The Aces out-shot SIU, 40.4% (21-52) to 38% (27-71), and won the rebounding battle, 41-39, but a 21-9 edge for SIU in turnovers proved costly for Evansville.

On Sunday, Evansville concludes its conference-opening weekend with a 1 p.m. showdown with Missouri State inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

UE looks to end 2-game skid

Following a quick break for Christmas, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team returns to action on Saturday with a 3 p.m. game at Loyola.  It will mark the second conference game for the Purple Aces, who fell in their league opener against Illinois State by a final of 72-66.

After missing seven games due to injury, Ryan Taylor was back in action against the Redbirds.  Taylor picked right up where he left off, scoring 22 points while taking a career-high 22 shots; it was a solid improvement for the junior against Illinois State as he notched 8 PPG against them in three games last year.  It marked his 5th 20-point game of the season; he had six such games last season.  With 21.4 points per game, Taylor would lead the MVC with enough games played.

Coming off the bench in the league opener, senior Dalen Traore set his career scoring mark with 11 points.  He did his work at the free throw line, connecting on 9 out of 10 attempts.  Traore is a solid 28/34 from the free throw line on the season, ranking in the top ten in the MVC draining 82.4% of his tries.

Evansville has enjoyed success in the series against the Ramblers, winning 27 out of 45 games overall and four of the last five games played.  Last season, the squads split the series with each team defending its home court.  UE hung on for a 60-58 win at the Ford Center while Loyola grabbed a 67-61 win at Gentile Arena.

Loyola is off to a 10-3 start on the season including a huge non-conference win at Florida on Dec. 6.  Four Ramblers average double figures led by Aundre Jackson.  Jackson averages 12.9 PPG while shooting 61% from the floor.  Clayton Custer sits at 12.5 points while Marques Townes averages 12.1.  Donte Ingram has notched 11.9 points while leading the way with 7.1 rebounds per contest.