The 31^st-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s tennis team saw its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 7-2 defeat at the hands of 42^nd ranked Bluefield State College Thursday in Charleston, West Virginia.

The Screaming Eagles (4-4) scored the first point of the day when the duo of sophomore James Hardiman (Backwell Bristol, United Kingdom) and freshman Denis Davydov (Chorvatsky Grob, Slovakia) picked up an 8-2 win at number two doubles. However, the Eagles were behind 2-1 heading into singles play.

In singles, Hardiman had a 6-0, 6-0 win to tie the match at two apiece, but that would be the last point USI would score. Three of the remaining five singles matches went all three sets.

Junior Samuel Kiladejo (London, England) was defeated at number three singles 1-6, 6-4, 2-6. At number four, senior Aaron Barris (Marietta, Georgia) took the close 7-6, 6-7, 6-7 loss, and sophomore Ilia Karelin (Ekaterinburg, Russia) was knocked off 2-6, 7-5, 3-10.

USI is back in action tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia.

Senior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) and junior guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) combined for 48 points as the No. 23 University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball team rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat No. 20 Bellarmine University, 88-81, in its regular-season finale Thursday evening.

USI (24-4, 16-2 GLVC) trailed 10-0 two minutes into the contest and 28-15 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. The Screaming Eagles, however, outscored the Knights 25-13 throughout the final 8:30 of the half, taking a brief two-point lead late in the second quarter before going into the break facing a 41-40 halftime deficit.

The two teams traded buckets early in the third quarter, but Marcum had a three-pointer and a pair of field goals in USI’s 7-0 run that put the Eagles up 55-46 with less than five minutes to play in the period.

Bellarmine (21-6, 13-5 GLVC) trimmed the Eagles’ lead to three late in the third quarter, but an 8-2 USI run that featured a pair of baskets by junior forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois) put the Eagles up 65-56 early in the fourth quarter.

USI maintained its nine-point advantage with just over four minutes to play in the game, but an 8-2 Bellarmine run trimmed the Eagles’ lead to 77-74 with less than two minutes to play in the contest.

Marcum, however, drained 6-of-6 free throws in the final 1:22 of the contest, while Grooms sank 5-of-6 attempts to preserve the Eagles’ victory.

Grooms, who became the 17^th player in program history reach the 1,000-point plateau, finished with 21 points, while Marcum was named the Player of the Game by NCAA.com after finishing with 27 points, six rebounds and five steals.

Dahlstrom added 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while senior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois) finished with 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. USI dominated the lane, out-rebounding the Knights, 42-32, and outscoring Bellarmine, 42-36, in the paint.

USI shot 47.5 percent from the field on 29-of-61 shooting, while Bellarmine went 27-of-66 (.405) from the field. The Eagles were a blistering 25-of-27 (.926) from the free throw line, while the Knights went 19-of-23 (.826) from the charity stripe.

Senior forward Sarah Galvin and junior guard Raven Merriweather led the Knights with 23 and 19 points, respectively.

The Eagles begin GLVC Tournament play next Friday, March 3, against an opponent to be determined. USI will be the No. 2 seed after winning the East Division by three games over Bellarmine and Lewis University.

The 10th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team lost a battle outside game versus inside game to  fourth-ranked Bellarmine University, 67-61, Thursday evening in Louisville, Kentucky. USI finished the regular season 25-3 overall and 15-3 in the GLVC, while Bellarmine goes to 25-3 overall, 17-1 GLVC.

Next up for the Screaming Eagles is the GLVC Tournament where they are the third seed and have a first round bye. USI will find out who its quarterfinal opponent is Sunday after the GLVC Tournament first round games (seeds 5-12).

The first half began the battle of inside versus outside, resulting in a Bellarmine 35-30 lead at the break. Bellarmine finished the first 20 minutes with a 30-2 advantage in the paint, while USI owned the outside by hitting eight-of-17 from beyond the arc.

The Eagles’ attack from outside was led by sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana), who had 13 first-half points on five-of-seven from the field, three-of-four from long range. Senior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) followed with nine points on three three-point bombs, while senior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) had six points on a pair of three-pointers.

In the second half, the contrasting styles continued as the Eagles rallied to take their largest lead of the game, 50-45, with 9:08 to play on Drummond’s season-best fifth three-point field goal of the contest. The Knights took control from that point, limiting the Eagles to only two baskets in the final seven minutes and outscoring USI, 22-11, to get their 41^st-straight home victory.

USI, overall, won the battle beyond the arc, 36-0 (12-of-29 from three-point range), while the Knights took the struggle in the paint, 48-10. The Eagles, who were held to their lowest point total of the year, also won the battle on the boards, 33-30.

Individually, Stein would lead three Eagles in double-digits with a game-high 20 points. The sophomore guard, who had seven points in the second half, was eight-of-14 from the field, three-of-six from downtown, and one-of-one from the line.

Drummond, who had a team-best nine points in the second half, finished the game with a season-high 18 points, hitting six-of-12 from the field and five-of-nine from downtown. Taylor rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points, hitting three three-point buckets and a pair of free throws.