VERMILLION, S.D. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball fell on the road, losing to the University of South Dakota, 89-74, Wednesday evening in Vermillion, South Dakota. The Screaming Eagles are 0-3 to start the year, while USD begins 2025-26, 2-2.
USI senior guard Ismail Habib hit the opening bucket of the game and propelled the Eagles to an early six-point lead, 10-4. The Coyotes rallied to take the lead, 12-10, and started a run of four lead changes over the next seven minutes.
South Dakota took the lead for good in the first half when it generated a 14-2 run to lead, 29-18, with 5:47 before halftime.
The Eagles responded and pulled to within four points, 35-31, when junior guard Kaden Brown sank a three-pointer from downtown. Brown scored six of his team-best first-half nine points during the run.
The Coyotes re-extended the lead to 12 points by the end of the half, 44-32, by outscoring USI, 7-1, in the final two minutes before the intermission.
USI started slow in the second half and found itself down 17, 53-36, after five minutes had passed. The Eagles’ offense was only able to connect on two of seven from the field during the start of the final 20 minutes.
After falling behind by 19 points, 58-39, the Eagles’ offense made a small 7-0 dash to pull to within 12, 58-46, with 12:01 left. Brown, Habib, and senior guard Sheridan Sharp combined to contribute the points during the run.
The Eagles were never able to close the gap further and cross the double-digit barrier in the final 10 minutes of the game as the Coyotes closed out the 89-74 final.
In the scoring column, Habib led three Eagles in double-digits with 19 points. The senior guard was five-of-14 from the field, including two three-pointers, and seven-of-nine from the stripe.
Brown followed close behind with nine more points in the second half for 18. The junior guard posted four-of-11 from the field, including the three first-half three-point field goals, and seven-of-nine from the line.
Senior guard Cardell Bailey rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. He also had a team-high eight rebounds.
Next Up For USI:
USI returns home to host Loras University Sunday at 3 p.m. in Liberty Arena. The Eagles lead the all-time series, 2-0, after winning the last meeting in 2022-23, 87-55, at home.
