USI battles hard, falls at home, 69-62

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball fell short Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Saturday evening at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles, who stumbled for the first time at home this season, go to 8-9 overall and 1-3 in the OVC, while Cougars are 12-5, 3-1 OVC.  

USI bounced out to a good start building a five-point lead before the first media timeout, 14-9, behind five points from graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) and three from senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) in an 8-4 run. The Cougars rallied to take the lead, 25-19, with just under 10 minutes on an 18-5 run of their own. 

After USI cut the deficit to one, 26-25, SIUE posted its largest lead of the half, 35-28, with just over two minutes to play before halftime. The Cougars missed the final shot of the first half and led 35-29 at the break.  

Defense led the way during the first 20 minutes with both teams hitting 36.7 percent from the field (11-30). USI had the advantage in three-point field goals (6-16), while SIUE had the lead at the line (11-12).  

The Eagles battled hard throughout the second half, but could not get the all-important run to take the lead. The deficit remained consistantly around 10 points, expanding to as many as 15 with 8:57 to play in the contest (57-42).  

USI chipped away at the deficit and for the second game in a row it clawed its way back to within shouting distance in the final minutes. The Eagles, trailing by 10 points, 64-54, made their final run with a 8-2 surge to get the margin to four points, 66-62, when sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) drove the lane for a bucket with 1:24 remaining.  

The Cougars’ defense held firm in the final 60 seconds and added three free throws to end the game, 69-62.  

For the game, USI was led by Swope, who had 19 points, and Lakes, who dropped in 16. Swope was eight-of-18 from the field, two-of-four from beyond the arc, and one-of-two from from the line, while Lakes was five-of-11 from the field, four-of-10 from long range, and two-of-two from the stripe.  

The Eagles won the battle on the glass, 41-33, and was led by senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan), who grabbeded a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) followed Polakovich on the glass with a 10 rebounds.  

Henry had nine points in the game and needs nine more to reach 1,000 points in his collegiate career.