USI holds off Little Rock, 82-81

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball fought off a late challenge by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to post an 82-81 victory Thursday evening in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Screaming Eagles go to 15-13 overall and 8-7 in the OVC, while the Trojans are 8-20, 4-11 OVC.   
 
With the win, USI rises into a three-way tie for fifth with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Tennessee State University. The Eagles also are within shouting distance of second in the conference, one game behind the three-way tie of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Southeast Missouri State University, and Tennessee Tech University.  
   
USI had to rally to stay in the game during the first half as Little Rock built a lead of as many as 11 points (26-15). The Eagles, trailing 34-26, went on a 9-0 surge to grab the lead, 35-34, with 3:39 left before the intermission.
 
After USI and Little Rock traded the lead four times in the final four minutes of the half, the Trojans took a 43-40 lead into halftime. USI senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) had a team-best 16 points in the opening 20 minutes, while sophomore forward Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) posted 13 first half points.
 
In the second half, Little Rock had the early momentum and extended the margin to eight points twice (48-40, 50-42). USI came back with an 23-13 run to knot the game, 65-65, and eventually took the lead, 71-70, on an old-fashion three-point play by Swope with 10 minutes on the clock.
 
After the Trojans briefly regained control and posted a 78-74 lead, USI made their final push to take the lead for good. The Eagles used an 8-0 run, sparked by back-to-back three-point field goals by Swope and senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio), to pull in front, 80-78.
 
Polakovich increased the lead to four points, 82-78, with a layup with 2:03 to play before the Eagles’ defense took over. USI held Little Rock without a field goal over the last minutes and without a shot attempt in the Trojans’ last chance with nine seconds to play.
 
In the final statistics, Polakovich led the Eagles in the scoring column with 27 points and concluded the game with 10 rebounds for this 12^th double-double of the year. The 27 points tied a season and USI career best.
 
Polakovich was a sizzling 11-of-13 from the field and finished his scoring with five free throws.
 
Simmons and Swope followed Polakovich in the scoring column with 21 points each. The trio marked the first time since February 12, 2015, that USI had three players with 20-or-more points in a game (Bobo Drummond (23), TeNale Roland (21), Gavin Schumann (21) versus the University of Missouri-St. Louis).
 
USI graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) rounded out USI’s double-digit scorers with 11 points. Lakes’ first two three-point bombs early second half broke Little Rock’s momentum, while a third tied the game at 68-68.