USI battles, but falls 75-63

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball ran out of time in the season-opener and fell to Saint Louis University, 75-63, Monday evening in St. Louis, Missouri. The Screaming Eagles start the year 0-1, while SlU begins 2023-24, 1-0.
 
The Eagles and Billikens were neck and neck through the first 10 minutes of the game before SLU went on 10-2 run to lead 29-17 with 4:06 left in the opening half. The Billikens took a 37-25 lead into the locker room at the break after leading by as many as 14 in the opening half.
 
USI junior guard Jordan Tillmon (Pine Bluff, Arkansas) paced the Eagles in the opening 20 minutes with nine points, while sophomore guard Jack Campion (Milton, Wisconsin) followed with six points.
 
In the second half, SLU quickly extended the margin to 20 points with an 18-6 run to lead, 55-33, with 14:35 to play. The Billikens pushed their lead to as many as 24, 57-33, with 13:18 on the clock when the Eagles began to push back.
 
USI used a 24-14 run to cut the deficit to 14 points, 71-57, with 5:16 left. The run included contributions from six different Eagles, including a pair of three-pointers by junior forward Jack Mielke (Downers Grove, Illinois).
 
After trading a few baskets, USI continued to narrow the gap in the final minutes. The Eagles closed the margin to 12 points, 75-63, on a lay-up by junior guard Ryan Hall (Kettering, Ohio) before the final buzzer sounded.
 
The second half saw the Eagles and Billikens even at 38-38 each. Sophomore forward Kiyron Powell (Evansville, Indiana) led the team during the second half with eight points.
 
Overall, Tillmon led USI in the scoring column with 15 points, the only Eagle to reach double-digits, and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Campion followed in the scoring column with nine points and a team-high four assists.
 
Next Up For USI:
USI continues its two-game road trip to start the season Thursday when it travels to fourth-ranked Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. (CST).
 
The Spartans started their season with a late game versus James Madison University in East Lansing this evening.
 
The USI-Michigan State matchup will be the Screaming Eagles first top 10 ranked opponent since the move to Division I and their first versus a Big Ten team since defeating the University of Wisconsin in 1991 in Madison, Wisconsin.