#5 Southern Indiana (11-1): 88
Ferris State (6-4): 81

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team outscored Ferris State University by 20 points in the second half to come from behind and earn an 88-81 victory Tuesday evening in the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge in Indianapolis, Indiana. The challenge is being hosted by the University of Indianapolis.

USI, which rose to fifth in the NABC Top 25 poll today, raises its record to 11-1 overall. FSU, which received votes for the top 25, falls to 6-4 overall in 2005-06.

The first half was dominated by FSU, which took control with a 7-0 run midway through half to lead 24-20. The Bulldog took advantage of the Eagles' struggles from the three-point range (1-8) to lead 49-36 at halftime.

Down 57-44 in the second half, the Eagles began the comeback a 7-0 run of their own to trail by six, 57-51, with 16:09 to play.

After the Bulldogs pushed the lead back to nine points on two occasions, USI began to slowly teardown the FSU lead in the final 14 minutes of the game. The Eagles regained the lead for the first time since the 11:16 mark of the first half with a 13-3 run to take a 68-67 lead with 8:41 to play.

The Bulldogs regained the lead briefly, 73-72, before the Eagles took the lead for good, 74-73 with 6:43 left in the game. USI would drop in eight of nine free throws in the final seven minutes to seal the victory.

USI senior forward Chris Thompson (Starke, Florida) led five players to score in double figures with a game-high 18 points. Senior guard David Bryant (Louisville, Kentucky) followed Thompson with 14 points, while junior forward/center Keith Christmas (Gary, Indiana) had 12 points senior guard Danny Gibson (Madison, Indiana) added 11 points and junior forward Nick Brooks (Robinson, Illinois) dropped in 10 points.

The Eagles also controlled the boards, outrebouding the Bulldogs 29-22. Thompson led USI with a game-high eight rebounds.

USI completes play in the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge against Wayne State University Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. (CST). Wayne State (3-6) defeated Indianapolis 78-61 to begin the tournament.