University of Southern Indiana junior guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week for his efforts in the Screaming Eagles’ victories over ninth-ranked Lake Superior State University and Ohio Valley University in the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic. The GLVC Player of the Week award is the second of Stein’s career.

Stein averaged 27.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in the wins over Lake Superior State and Ohio Valley. He also shot 61.5 percent from the field (16-26), 55.6 percent (5-9) from long range, while going a perfect 18-of-18 at the free throw line.

The junior guard posted a season-high 31 points and a school-record 14-of-14 from the charity stripe in USI’s 94-77 victory versus Lake Superior State. The 31 points was the fourth-highest single-game, while his 27.5 points per game was second-best two-game effort in the 11 years of the memorial classic.

Stein’s 14-of-14 school-record performance at the line versus Lakes Superior State also established a new record of 45 consecutive free throws made that was extended to 49-straight in the win over Ohio Valley.

USI and Stein resume action in 2018 when they restarts Great Lakes Valley Conference action by hosting the University of Missouri-St. Louis Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Physical Activities Center. The Eagles finish the GLVC weekend on the road when they visit Drury University Saturday in Springfield, Missouri, for a 3 p.m. contest.

University of Southern Indiana Head Coach Rodney Watson was named the HoopDirt.com NCAA Division II Coach of the Week after the Screaming Eagles swept the final weekend of 2017, posting Midwest Region wins over ninth-ranked Lake Superior State University and Ohio Valley University.

Watson’s Eagles started the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic with a come-back win over Lake Superior State University, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Lakers 94-77. USI shot 67.7 percent in the second half and erased a one-point halftime shortfall to post a 26-point win, 96-69, over Ohio Valley to finish the weekend and the 2017 calendar.

USI resumes action in 2018 when it restarts Great Lakes Valley Conference action by hosting the University of Missouri-St. Louis Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Physical Activities Center. The Eagles finish the GLVC weekend on the road when they visit Drury University Saturday in Springfield, Missouri, for a 3 p.m. contest.

University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball concludes its three-game homestand and starts 2018 by hosting the University of Missouri-St. Louis at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Physical Activities Center for a Great Lakes Valley Conference match-up. The USI-UMSL showdown is the first GLVC game for the Screaming Eagles visited the University of Indianapolis on December 2.

Following Thursday’s contest, USI goes on the road to visit Drury University at 3 p.m. Saturday in Springfield, Missouri, to finish the GLVC weekend.

Game coverage for all of USI’s game action, including live stats, video stream, and audio broadcasts, is available at GoUSIEagles.com. The games also can be heard on ESPN 97.7 WREF and 95.7FM The Spin.

USI Men’s Basketball Week 8 Notes: 
USI finishes non-conference with two wins. USI finished 2017-18 non-conference action, 9-3, after sweeping the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic, posting wins over ninth-ranked Lake Superior State University (94-77) and Ohio Valley University (95-69). Junior guard Alex Stein led the Eagles with 27.5 points per game during the classic, while junior guard/forward Nate Hansen dropped in 14.0 points per outing. Freshman forward Emmanuel Little averaged a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds per contest.

Eagles honored. USI Head Coach Rodney Watson and junior guard Alex Stein were honored this week for the Screaming Eagles’ victories during the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic. Watson was named the HoopDirt.com NCAA Division II Coach of the Week, while Stein was named the GLVC Player of the Week. The GLVC Player of the Week honor was Stein’s second as an Eagle.

Records setting. USI had three records set at the free throw line during the win over top-10 Lake Superior State. The Eagles sank a single-game record 44 free throws, including 33 in a row. Junior guard Alex Stein was a USI single-game mark of 14-of-14 from the line and established a new Eagles’ mark of 45 consecutive free throws made (this record was extended to 49 during the win over Ohio Valley).

Leaders through 14 games. USI has three players averaging double-digits through 10 games in 2017-18. Junior guard Alex Stein leads the scorers with 19.1 points per game, while junior guard/forward Nate Hansen and senior guard Marcellous Washington round out the double-digit scorers with 15.3 and 13.1 points per contest, respectively. Senior forward DayJar Dickson leads the Eagles on the glass with 6.8 rebounds per outing.

USI back in the GLVC. The Eagles re-start GLVC action with a split schedule, hosting the University of Missouri-St. Louis (January 4) at the PAC and traveling to play Drury University (January 6) in Springfield, Missouri.

•  USI vs. Missouri-St. Louis. USI leads the all-time series with UMSL, 36-11, 30-2 in conference play. The Eagles also has a 20-4 all-time mark against the Tritons at home, 18-1 in league action. Guards Jeril Taylor and Cortez Macklin led the Eagles to a 71-58 victory last year with 18 and 14 points, respectively.
• USI vs. Drury. USI is 11-9 all-time against Drury after defeating the Panthers, 77-51, last year at the PAC. Guard Jeril Taylor led the Eagles with 25 points, while junior guard Alex Stein and senior guard Marcellous Washington followed with 17 points and 11 points, respectively. The Eagles are 3-4 all-time on the road versus the Panthers.

UMSL in 2017-18. The Tritons are 7-5 in 2017-18 and restart GLVC play with a 2-1 mark in the league. UMSL, a member of the GLVC Central Division, started league action with a loss at Drury before posting wins over Truman State University and William Jewell College in December.

Drury in 2017-18. The Panthers, who have a bye on Thursday night, will welcome the Eagles with an 8-2 mark, 2-1 GLVC, and on a three-game winning streak. Drury, a member of the GLVC West Division, has won three-straight and six of the last seven games. The Panthers started GLVC action in December by defeating UMSL before losing McKendree University and beating Quincy University in December.