USI wins thriller at the line Eagles snap losing streak with win

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball snapped a five-game losing streaking by making 11-of-11 free throws down the stretch to defeat Tennessee Tech University, 74-71, Thursday evening in Cookeville, Tennessee. The Screaming Eagles rise to 6-16 overall and 3-6 in OVC play, while the Golden Eagles are 7-15 overall, 2-7 OVC.
 
The Screaming Eagles controlled much of the opening 20 minutes and were in front at the intermission, 35-32. USI led by as many as 12 points, 34-22, with 3:47 remaining in the half after a 16-8 run. Sophomore guard Ryan Hall (Kettering, Ohio) and junior guard Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) led USI during the run with six points and five points, respectively.
 
TTU, however, cut into the USI advantage with an 8-1 run in the final minutes of the half to shrink the margin to three.
 
The second half saw the Screaming Eagles re-extend the lead to seven points twice (43-36 and 45-38) on back-to-back points in the paint by junior forward Nick Hittle (Indianapolis, Indiana). The Golden Eagles would rally and jumped back into the lead with a three-pointer to make the score 51-50 with 10:14 to play.
 
The next eight minutes would see the lead bounce back and forth until Hernandez connected on all three of a three-shot foul to give USI the lead for good, 66-65, with 2:26 to play. Hernandez would convert twice more to increase the lead to 68-65 with two more charity shots with 1:55 on the clock.
 
After TTU cut the USI advantage to one, 68-67, with two free throws of its own, Hall continued USI’s lead protection with two more free throws for a 70-67 lead with 27 ticks left. Sophomore guard Jack Campion (Milton, Wisconsin) and Hittle sealed the victory with four more free throw conversions in the final seconds to hold off the Golden Eagles, 74-71.
 
Overall, USI was 11-of-11 from the line down the stretch and 19-24 overall in the game. The Screaming Eagles also shot over 50 percent from the field for the game for the first time since November (51.1 percent, 23-45).
 
Individually, Hernandez led all USI scorers with 19 points before fouling out in the second half. The junior guard was five-of-11 from the field, including a three-point field goal, and eight-of-10 from the stripe.
 
USI sophomore guard/forward AJ Smith (Edwardsville, Illinois) followed with 13 points and grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds. The double-double was Smith’s team-high ninth of the season.
 
Hittle was third on the team in the scoring column with 12 points (one short of tying a career-high) on a blistering six-of-seven from field and two-of-two from the line. Junior forward Jack Mielke (Downers Grove, Illinois) was close behind with 11 points on a perfect four-of-four from the field and three-of-three from beyond the arc.
 
Campion rounded out the five USI double-figure scorers with 10 points. The sophomore guard also dished a career-high tying eight assists.