Peoria, Ill.:  In an extremely back-and-forth game that saw Evansville take the lead four separate times with Peoria neutralizing each lead, the Thunderbolts battled their way to a 5-4 shootout win over the Rivermen on Friday night at Peoria Civic Center.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Sunday, December 31^st against the Macon Mayhem, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.

After a scoreless first period, Bair Gendunov opened the scoring at 1:43 of the second period off a Rivermen turnover, assisted by Myles Abbate and Tommy Stang.  The goal extended Gendunov’s point streak to eight consecutive games and counting.  The Rivermen tied the game at 2:55 off a deflection goal by Andrew Durham.  At 6:06, Mike Ferraro scored on a breakaway from Scott Kirton to put Evansville ahead 2-1, before a power play goal from Zach Wilkie at 10:13 tied the game at 2-2.  Late in the second period, Ferraro scored once again off a net-front scramble from Lincoln Hatten and Nick Prestia at 18:34 to again put Evansville ahead, 3-2 after two periods.

1:30 into the third period, Joseph Widmar scored to tie the game once again for Peoria at 3-3.  A few minutes later, a low-angle shot by Brendan Harrogate put Evansville ahead 4-3 at 5:21, assisted by Hayden Ford.  Once again, Peoria managed to tie the game as Alec Baer scored on a late 5-on-3 at 17:04.  After a scoreless overtime highlighted by a key save from Cole Ceci on an Alec Hagaman breakaway in the final minute, the game went to a shootout.  Gendunov and Kirton scored for Evansville while Ceci stopped 4 of 5 Rivermen attempts, and the Thunderbolts came up victorious and won their 4th straight game, now only a single point under the playoff line with 6 wins in their past 8 games.

Ferraro finished with a pair of goals, while Gendunov and Harrogate scored one goal each, along with Kirton scoring the shootout-winning goal.  Cole Ceci picked up his 6^th win of the season by stopping 23 of 27 shots in regulation and overtime.  The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet again on Saturday, December 23^rd at Peoria Civic Center.

CARBONDALE, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball could not overcome a series of first half runs and lost to Southern Illinois University, 81-50, Friday evening at the Banterra Center in Carbondale, Illinois. The Screaming Eagles fall to 3-10 after tonight’s action, while the Salukis are 8-4 overall in 2023-24.

It was a hard 20 minutes to start the game for the Eagles as they found themselves in a hole, 39-14, at the intermission. The Salukis took command of the game in the first half with a series of small runs, including an 11-0 sprint that gave them a 34-9 margin with 3:52 before halftime.

USI’s offense also could not get out of neutral as it was held to 18.8 percent from the field (6-32).

In the second half, USI tried to pick up the pace but was only able to generate most of it offense from the free throw line. The Eagles got to the stripe 24 times, connecting on 17.
 
Despite getting to the line and shooting better in the final 20 minutes (34.8 percent; 8-23), USI was unable to cutting the SIU margin. The Salukis outscored the Eagles in the final 20 minutes, 42-36.

USI sophomore AJ Smith (Edwardsville, Illinois) was the only Eagle to reach double-digits with 14 points. Smith also recorded his fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
 
Next Up For USI:
USI is off until next Friday when it continues its three-game road swing with the start of Ohio Valley Conference action with visits to Southeast Missouri State University December 29 and Lindenwood University December 31. Game time versus SEMO in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is 7:30 p.m., while the tip against Lindenwood in St. Charles, Missouri, is schedule for 2:30 p.m.
 
The Redhawks of SEMO were 4-8 in non-conference action after losing to Illinois State University Thursday on the road, 85-64, but is .500 over the last six games. The Lions of Lindenwood defeated Rockford University, 81-54, this evening, and are 6-7 in the run up to OVC play.
 
USI trails the all-time series with SEMO, 4-3, after splitting the OVC matchups last year. The Eagles took the opening game at Screaming Eagles Arena, 86-81, but lost in Cape Girardeau, 85-80.
 
After last season sweep, USI leads the all-time series with Lindenwood, 6-0. The Eagles took the opening meeting in St. Charles, 81-65, and completed the sweep at Screaming Eagles Arena, 74-64, for one of two OVC series sweeps last season.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball finished the non-conference season with an 86-37 victory against Brescia University (KY) on Friday afternoon at Screaming Eagles Arena.

With the win, USI finished the non-conference slate with a .500 record of 5-5, preceding the start of Ohio Valley Conference play.

The Screaming Eagles came out of the gate with an 18-0 lead in the first quarter. Senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) led the early charge, which included a triple and a three-point play. Raley scored double figures in the opening period. Southern Indiana’s defense was also stifling, forcing the Bearcats into multiple turnovers in the backcourt. USI’s first-quarter play featured a balanced attack, shooting over 64 percent overall with six made threes, which led to a 35-7 advantage through 10 minutes of action.
 
Southern Indiana continued to spread the ball around in the first half, as nine Screaming Eagles found the scoring column before halftime. Late in the second quarter, graduate guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) and junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) combined for a stretch of scoring that put both with 10 points in the first half. USI led 56-18 at the break.
 
Early in the third quarter, Raley converted her second basket-and-foul opportunity of the game, crossing over the 20-point plateau for the contest and giving USI a 63-20 lead. The balance of post-play and outside shooting continued for Southern Indiana in the second half. During the middle portion of the game, redshirt senior guard Addy Blackwell (Bloomington, Indiana) surpassed 100 made three-pointers in her career. The Screaming Eagles carried a 74-27 lead into the fourth period.
 
As offenses cooled off a bit in the fourth quarter, USI freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) also joined the double-digit club in the fourth, connecting on a pair of baskets. With a three-point play in the period, Gannon matched a career-best 13 points, which she set in the last game against the University of Cincinnati.
 
Southern Indiana shot over 57 percent for the game with 30 makes on 52 attempts, 11-of-22 from beyond the arc, and over 88 percent (15-17) from the foul line. USI outrebounded Brescia 38-23. Raley led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 6-of-6 at the free-throw line. Gannon finished with 13 points, Shafford had 12 points, and Handley tallied 10 points.
 
Brescia was 12-of-49 for 24.5 percent from the floor with four triples and nine made free throws. Freshman guard Genesis Ghide-Bryan led the Bearcats with 13 points.
 
Following a short holiday break, the Screaming Eagles will prepare to open the Ohio Valley Conference season next week on the road at Southeast Missouri State University and Lindenwood University.