ROLLA, Mo. – The University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team came back from multiple double-digit deficits in the first half to post a 73-57 win over Missouri University of Science and Technology Saturday afternoon in Rolla, Missouri. USI raises its record to 9-2 overall and 3-0 in the GLVC, while Missouri S&T goes to 3-9 overall, 0-4 GLVC.
The victory also was USI's seventh straight since starting the year 2-2.
In the first half, the Miners came out firing and jumped out to a nine-point lead, 11-2. The Miners would extend the margin to as many as 11 points twice before the Screaming Eagles began to claw their way back into the game.
Down 22-12, the Eagles used a 13-2 run to tie the game, 25-25, with 9:04 left in the half. USI took its first lead of the game, 27-25, and used a 7-0 run to post its biggest lead of the half, 35-30. The Miners made a run of their own at the end half to send the teams into the locker rooms tied 35-35.
After Missouri S&T scored the first bucket of the second half, USI went on a 12-0 run to take control of the game, 47-37, with 14:31 left. The Eagles' lead would never get below double-digits the rest of the way.
USI would extend their lead to as many as 16 points three times, including the 73-57 final score. The Miners' 57 points marked the fifth straight game that the Eagles have held an opponent to 60 points-or-less and the sixth time this season.
The Eagles were led by 22 point performance of senior forward
Norman Plummer (Cincinnati, Ohio). Plummer, who scored 11 points in each half, and sophomore forward
George Cunningham (San Diego, California) tied on the boards with nine rebounds each.
USI senior guard
Tyson Schnitker (Robinson, Illinois) followed Plummer in the scoring column with 14 points, 12 coming in the second half. Schnitker also had a team-best six assists for the second straight game.
USI returns to the friendly surroundings of the Physical Activities Center next week when it host the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on January 10 and Lewis University on January 12.
