at #25 Southern Indiana (10-2): 130
Temple Baptist (0-7): 57
Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Six University of Southern Indiana men's basketball players scored at least 10 points and all 14 players put marks in the scoring column as the No. 25 Screaming Eagles rolled past Temple Baptist College, 130-57, Saturday night at the Physical Activities Center.

The 130 points was the fourth-most points scored in a single game by a USI men's basketball team and was just nine points short of the school record 139 that the Eagles put up against Indiana Central College (now known as the University of Indianapolis) during the 1983-84 season. It is the first time the Eagles have reached the 130-point plateau since USI scored 134 points in a triple-overtime victory over Northern State University on November 15, 1997.

USI (10-2), which has won nine straight games, also narrowly missed its record for largest margin of victory with its 73-point win against the Rams (0-7) of Temple Baptist. The Eagles defeated Manchester 111-36 in 1986-87.


Behind the inside presence of junior forward Jeron Lewis (Ft. Wayne, Indiana), the Eagles jumped out to a 17-0 lead four minutes into the contest. Lewis, who finished the game with a season-best 18 points to go along with five rebounds, scored eight of USI's first 10 points to get the Eagles rolling offensively.


Junior forward Brandon Russ (Cincinnati, Ohio) kept things going as he came off the bench to score 12 of his game-high 23 points in the first 20 minutes. Russ, who went 8-for-8 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe, also had a team-best seven rebounds.

As a team, the Eagles racked up 18 of their season-high 31 assists in the first period and shot 63.4 percent from the floor as they cruised into the locker room with a comfortable 67-28 halftime advantage.

USI shot a blistering 76.7 percent (23-of-30) from the floor, 75.0 percent from the arc (9-of-12), in the second half as it coasted to the 73-point win.

In addition to Russ and Lewis, the Eagles got 12 points from junior forward Brandon Carr (Baltimore, Maryland) and freshman guard Brandon Hogg (Edwardsville, Illinois). Senior guard Kenny Love (South Bend, Indiana) and junior guard Marvin Gray (Freeport, Bahamas) added 11 and 10 points, respectively, to round out USI's double-figure scorers.

Gray and sophomore guard Kevin Gant (Indianapolis, Indiana) dished out six and seven assists, respectively, as the Eagles finished just four assists shy of a school record. USI's 19 steals also were just one shy of the program's all-time single-game mark.

USI, which reached the 100-point plateau for the third time this season, returns to action next Saturday when it takes on Maryville University at 3 p.m. The Saints of Maryville are slated to join the GLVC in 2009-10.