EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team could not contain Lewis University and lost 87-77 Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center. USI falls to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the GLVC, while Lewis goes to 11-3, 4-2 GLVC.

The Screaming Eagles controlled most of the first half with several nine point leads, including a 32-23 margin with 8:44 left in the half. The Flyers chipped away at the lead, eventually jumping ahead 40-39, before the teams settled for a 42-42 deadlock at the intermission.

USI had the early advantage in the second half, but a 26-6 run gave Lewis the lead for good at 73-56 with 9:12 to play. The 17-point Flyer lead was the largest margin of the game.

The Eagles could not get any closer that 10 points the rest of the way in suffering the 87-77 final.

Individually, USI was led by senior forward Norman Plummer (Cincinnati, Ohio) with 23 points and nine rebounds. Plummer was followed in the scoring column by sophomore guard Darren Cloud (Evansville, Indiana), who had 22 points, and junior guard Josh Huebner (Evansville, Indiana), who had 11 points.

The Eagles return to the GLVC road schedule next week when they travel to Northern Kentucky University on January 17 and Bellarmine University on January 19. Game time Thursday at NKU is 6:45 p.m. (CST), while tip-off Saturday at Bellarmine is 7 p.m. (CST).

The next homestand for USI will be January 24 when it starts a two-game homestand with Quincy University.