 University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball upset 12th-ranked Barry University, 82-61, during the final day of the Bellarmine Classic Wednesday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky. The Screaming Eagles go to 7-2 overall, while Barry is 7-3 on the season.
USI had control for most of the first half after trailing by six points early, 11-5. The Eagles took control of the opening 20 minutes with an 9-4 run to lead 16-15 with 8:43 left before halftime on a drive on the baseline by sophomore forward Emmanuel Little (Indianapolis, Indiana).
The USI lead would extend to a first half best six-point lead, 26-20, when senior guard/forward Nate Hansen (Evansville, Indiana) hit a jumper with 4:47 on the clock. The Buccaneers closed the gap to one, 30-29, before the Eagles closed out the half with a 34-31 advantage.
Little led the way during the opening stanza with 13 points on four-of-eight from the field and five-of-seven from the line, while senior guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) and junior guard/forward Kobe Caldwell (Bowling Green, Kentucky) closed out the half with eight points and six points, respectively.
After Barry was able to draw even, 39-39, with two minutes gone in the second half, the Eagles hit the gas offensively with a 26-8 run over the next eight minutes to lead by 21 points, 65-44, after a pair of free throws by Stein with 8:57 left in the game. Stein and sophomore forward Josh Price (Indianapolis, Indiana) led the charge with eight points each, followed Caldwell dropping in seven during the run.
The Buccaneers would make a final charge by responding with a 13-5 run to cut the Eagles’ margin to 13 points, 70-57, with 4:41 left in the contest. USI, which shot 53.6 percent (15-28) in the second half, responded with a 12-4 dash to regain the momentum and closed out the 82-61 victory.
Defensively in the game, the Eagles forced Barry into 21 turnovers and held the Buccaneers to 35 percent from the field (21-60).
Stein led four Eagles in double-digits with 21 points. He was six-of-10 from the field, one-of-three from long range, and a perfect eight-of-eight from the stripe, while grabbing six rebounds and dishing four assists.
Little followed Stein with his second-straight double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing a season-high 13 rebounds. He was five-of-10 from the field and eight-of- 11 from the line.
Price and Caldwell rounded out the double-figure scorers from USI with 16 points each. Caldweel was six-of-11 from the field and a team-best three-of-seven from downtown, while Price was six-of-10 from outside and four-of-seven the line.
The Eagles return to action at the friendly surroundings of the Physical Activities Center when they host the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic December 29-30. USI is slated to play King University December 29 at 1 p.m. and Ohio Valley University December 30 at 3:15 p.m. Game coverage information for USI Men’s Basketball can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
