LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 15th-ranked University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball could not overcome a rough first half and lost to ninth-ranked Bellarmine University, 80-65, Monday evening in Louisville, Kentucky. USI watched its record go to 13-4 overall and 5-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Bellarmine rose to 14-2, 7-0 GLVC.
The Screaming Eagles had trouble getting the lid off the bucket in the first half, starting the game one-of-seven, and trailed by eight points, 16-8, with eight minutes gone. USI would close to within two, 16-14, on a three-pointer by junior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) at 10:16, but would not score again for the next six minutes until freshman guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) broke the drought at 4:01 left in the half and the Eagles down, 29-16.
The Knights increased their lead to 18 points twice before a brief 5-0 run by the Eagles cut the deficit to 13 points, 36-23, with 1:36 left. Bellarmine got the last four points of the opening half and led 40-23 at the intermission.
As a team, USI shot only 32.1 percent in the opening half (9-28) and committed 12 turnovers. The lone positive of the first half for USI was outrebounding Bellarmine 20-16.
In the second half, the Eagles found their range and were able work their way back into contention. USI, which outscored Bellarmine in the second half, 42-40, cut the deficit to as few as 10 points three times in the final five minutes after trailing by as many as 22 points in the final half.
The Eagles shot 50 percent in the second half (15-30), but was only three-of-12 from beyond the arc. USI outrebounded Bellarmine, 15-13, after halftime and 35-29 for the game.
Taylor led USI’s second half comeback attempt by scoring 24 of his game-high 27 points in the final 20 minutes. The junior guard was seven-of-13 in the second half, hitting three three-point field goals, while converting seven-of-seven trips to the line.
The Eagles three-game road swing concludes this weekend when they visit Lewis University (January 21) and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (January 23). Game time Thursday at Lewis is 7:30 p.m., while tip-off at UW-Parkside next Saturday is 3 p.m.
Live coverage of the final two games of the road is available at GoUSIEagles.com.
