 University of Southern Indiana senior guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) exploded for 48 points in leading the Screaming Eagles to a 110-88 victory over Lake Superior State University Friday afternoon in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Eagles go to 3-1 to begin 2018-19, while LSSU is 2-2.
The 110 points is the first time that USI has reached the century mark since the Eagles scored 122 points in the triple-overtime win at Saint Joseph’s College.
USI, which led from start to finish, built a commanding lead behind Stein’s 25 first-half points. Stein was a blistering eight-of-11 from the field, four-of-five from long range, and a perfect five-of-five from the stripe.
The Eagles flew out to an early seven point lead, 9-2, on a 7-0 run to put some space between them and the Lakers. Midway through the first half, the Eagles caught fire and boosted their advantage to 18 points, 45-27, on a 22-10 run. Stein led USI with 15 points during the run.
USI and LSSU would trade buckets in the final minutes of the opening half before the Eagles took at 46-29 lead in the intermission.
The Eagles continued to hit the offensively gas pedal in the second half, scoring 64 points in the final half and posting game-high leads of 36 points twice (94-58 and 96-60) with nearly seven minutes to play in the game. LSSU had a 14-4 run in the final three minutes to cut the USI advantage to 22 points as the Eagles closed out the 110-88 victory.
USI was a blistering 62.9 percent from the field in the second half (22-35), 60 percent from downtown (9-15) and a perfect 11-of-11 from the stripe as a team. The advantage on the glass also went to the Eagles, 39-29, for the game.
Stein continued to lead USI in the second half with 23 more points on seven-of-eight from the field, two-of-three from beyond the arc, and seven-of-seven from the stripe.
For the game, Stein would finish the contest with 48 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. He was game-high 15-of-19 from the outside, six-of-eight from three-point land, and 12-of-12 from the line. In addition to Stein setting a career-high for points, he becomes just the third player in USI history to reach 45-or-more points (Chris Bowles, 45 points 1990-91; Stein 48 points 2018-19; Jeril Taylor 50 points 2016-17) and moves into the fourth all-time at USI with 1,580 career points, passing Cris Brunson (1562 points, 2001-05).
USI’s senior guard also needs 39 more points to catch Stan Gouard (1,619; 1993-96) for third all-time.
Junior guard/forward Kobe Caldwell (Bowling Green, Kentucky) caught fire offensively in the second half to bolster the Eagles’ offensive attack. Caldwell scored 16 of his 17 points in the final half on five-of-seven from the field, four-of-six from behind the arc, and two-of-two from the line. He also grabbed a team-high and season-high eight rebounds.
The double-digit scorers for the Eagles were rounded out by sophomore forward Josh Price (Indianapolis, Indiana), who had a season-high 14 points, 10 coming in the first half. Price was five-of-seven from outside for the game and four-of-four from the line.
The Eagles return to the friendly surroundings of the Physical Activities Center November 27 when they host Oakland City University to start a three-game homestand. Tipoff for the USI-OCU matchup is 7 p.m. Game coverage can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
The three-game USI homestand includes the 2018-19 GLVC opener versus top-ranked Bellarmine University December 1.
