USI explodes in 2nd half to defeat Lindenwood Eagles are a game out of 1st in the OVC

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball outscored Lindenwood University by 17 in the second half and rolled to an 81-65 victory Thursday evening in St. Charles, Missouri. The Screaming Eagles go to 11-9 overall and 4-3 in the OVC, while Lions are 7-13, 2-5 OVC. 
 
With the victory, USI is in a four-way tie for third in the OVC standings at 4-3 in the league play and one game out of first behind Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Tennessee Tech University, which are tied for first with 5-2 records.
 
USI had the early momentum in the opening 20 minutes, surging to a 6-0 lead to start the game. Lindenwood had a surge of its own, taking its first lead at 10-9 and would build its own six-point lead, 21-15, midway through the half.
 
The Eagles battled back to knot the game up at 28-28 with 4:07 on the clock on a three-pointer by senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio). The Lion, however, would regain the lead, 31-28, and managed to take a one-point lead into the intermission, 33-32.
 
Simmons was in command of the first half with 15 points on six-of-nine from the field, three-of-four from beyond the arc.
 
The second half started off in USI’s favor as the Eagles rallied to take a 10-point lead, 46-36, on a 14-3 run in the first five minutes. Senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) led the charge to take the lead with seven points as USI was six-of-nine from the field to start the second 20 minutes.  
 
After the Lions shrank the Eagles’ margin to three, 46-43, USI took total command by outscoring Lindenwood, 35-22, in the final 12 minutes to seal the victory. Graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) and sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) led the attack with 15 points and 11 points, respectively
 
As a team, USI was a blistering 12-of-15 from the field during the final 12 minutes, including nine-of-10 from beyond the arc.
 
The Eagles were led for the game by Simmons and Lakes, who combined for 45 of the 81 points. Simmons added nine second half points and end with a game-high 24 points on 10-of-14 from the field and four-of-six from long range.
 
Lakes concluded the win with 21 points on seven-of-12 from the field, seven-of-11 from beyond the arc. Swope rounded out the double-digit scorers with 16 points and had a team-high four assists.