USI loses a heartbreaker in overtime
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball could not hold a second-half lead and lost in overtime at Lindenwood University, 81-78, Saturday afternoon at Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. The Screaming Eagles are 9-17 overall and 4-12 in OVC action, while the Lions go to 13-14, 8-8 OVC.
USI and Lindenwood battled back and forth for the first 14 minutes of the opening half before the Eagles exploded on a 17-4 run to lead by 10 points at halftime, 33-23. Junior guard Jayland Randall led the USI offensive surge by scoring 11 of his 14 points in the final six minutes of the half.
In addition to Randall, sophomore forward Stephen Olowoniyi pounded out six points during the run and finished with 12 first-half points. USI, as a team, was a blistering seven-of-10 from the field during the run.
The Eagles attempted to take command in the first 10 minutes of the second half when they used an 8-0 run to lead by 16 points with 13:25 to play, 54-38. Junior guard Jack Campion and graduate forward Jack Mielke posted a three-pointer each, while junior guard Damoni Harrison closed out the run with a two-point bucket.
Lindenwood, however, fought back into the contest with a 24-4 sprint to take the lead back, 61-60, with 3:59 to play. Junior guard Jack Campion would give USI back the lead, 65-63, with back-to-back buckets and bring the USI offense back to life.
After the Lions took the lead back at 66-65, Harrion drove the lane and gave USI back the lead, 67-66, while Olowoniyi increased the lead to three, 69-66, with 1:15 to play. Lindenwood would bounce back once again, tying the score, 73-73, to send the game into overtime.
USI was never able to get the lead back in overtime as Lindenwood would outscore the Eagles, 8-5, for the 81-78 final. Trailing 79-78 with 2:18 left in overtime, USI missed five shots to retake the lead and one final shot to tie with seconds on the clock.
Individually in the game for the Eagles, Olowoniyi led the way with his fifth double-double of the year, 22 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. The 13 rebounds tied a season high for the sophomore forward.
Randall and Campion followed with 19 and 17 points, respectively, while Harrison rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points. Campion also had eight assists in the contest, one short of tying a career-best.
Next Up For USI:
The Eagles come home to Liberty Arena for the final homestand of the regular season next week when they host Eastern Illinois University Thursday and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Saturday. Both contests are slated for 7:30 p.m. tipoffs.
USI also will celebrate Senior Night Saturday prior to the game with SIUE. USI will recognize senior forward Nick Hittle, senior guard Sam Mervis, graduate guard Ryan Hall, and graduate forward Jack Mielke.
EIU enters today’s action later this afternoon versus the University of Tennessee at Martin with an 8-18 overall and 4-11 in the OVC. The Panthers have lost their last three and 10 of the last 13 going into today’s game.
USI took the first meeting of the year with 64-60 on the road and leads the all-time series, 4-3 overall. Olowoniyi led the Eagles during the first meeting with 13 points.
SIUE, which is 17-9 and 10-5 OVC, finishes its weekend by hosting Tennessee State University today. SIUE started the afternoon having won three of its last four and 10 of its previous 13 games.
The Eagles lead the all-time series, 46-24, despite falling to the Cougars in January, 82-76, in Edwardsvilles. USI, which trails SIUE, 4-2, since moving to Division I, was led in the loss by Harrison, who posted a team-high 15 points. Junior guard Sam Kodi and Olowoniyi followed with 12 points and 11 points, respectively, while Randall and junior guard Braxton Jones rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points each.
Tickets for the homestand and all USI home dates are on sale now at USIScreamingEagles.com.
