KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana senior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) scored a record 50 points in the Screaming Eagles’ 111-89 victory over Truman State University Thursday evening in Kirksville, Missouri. USI sees its record go to 15-0 overall and 5-0 in the GLVC, while Truman goes to 12-4, 4-2 GLVC.
Taylor’s 50 points surpassed the 26-year old single-game mark of Chris Bowles, who had 45 points in the 1991 overtime win at Northern Kentucky University. The 50-points also was two points shy of the GLVC single-game record of 52 set in 1988 by the University of Indianapolis’ Gary Paul and tied in 2009 by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside’s LaVontay Fenderson and in 2016 by Lewis University’s Max Strus.
Overall in the game, Taylor was a blistering 13-of-15 from the field, a USI three-point field goal percent record of nine-of-nine (1.000) from beyond the arc, and 15-of-20 from the charity stripe. He also had a game-high nine rebounds and a team-high six assists.
In the game’s first half, USI led by as many as 15 points twice in building a 62-50 lead at the intermission. The Eagles, led by Taylor, were a blistering 60 percent from the field (22-36), 63.6 percent from beyond the arc (7-11), and 81.3 percent from the charity stripe (13-16). Taylor dropped in nine-of-10 from the field, six-of-six from long range, and 11-of-12 from the line for a USI first-half record 35 points.
The second half saw the Bulldogs made a run at the Eagles as they cut 12-point halftime lead to eight points four times during the final half before USI closed out the final five minutes with a 17-3 run to seal the 111-89 victory.
Four Eagles joined Taylor in posting double-digits in the scorning column tonight. Junior forward Julius Rajala (Finland) was second on the team with 12 points, while senior guard Cortez Macklin (Louisville, Kentucky) and junior guard Marcellous Washington (Lexington, Kentucky) had 11 points each. Sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
As a team, USI won the battle on the boards for 11th-straight game, 42-35, and shot a red-hot 68.4 percent from long range (13-19).
The Eagles conclude the road trip Saturday with their first ranked opponent of the year when they visit 24th-ranked Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois. The Hawks watched their record go to 15-2 overall and 5-1 in the GLVC after losing in overtime, 103-96, to ninth-ranked Bellarmine University at home tonight.
USI leads the all-time series, 29-10, and has a 9-5 advantage at Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Illinois. The Hawks defeated the Eagles last year at the PAC, 96-92, with senior guard Bobo Drummond and Taylor leading the way with 25 and 20 points, respectively, for USI.
