Eagles open GLVC play with ranked opponents

Game Notes

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team enters the NABC/Division II Top 25 poll for the first time this season and is ranked 22^nd as it begins GLVC play this week.

 

The Screaming Eagles start the GLVC schedule with a pair of ranked team when they travel to 20^th-ranked Northern Kentucky University Thursday and host second-ranked Bellarmine University Saturday. Tip-off for the USI-NKU showdown is 6:45 p.m. (CST) in Highland Heights, Kentucky, while the USI-Bellarmine match-up is 7:30 p.m. at the Physical Activities Center.

 

Game coverage, including audio, video, and live stats, can be accessed at gousieagles.com, while fans also can listen to all of the action on ESPN 106.7FM or WPSR 90.7FM. Saturday's USI-Bellarmine game is scheduled to be televised live on the News 25 Sports Channel.

 

The Eagles (4-0, 0-0 GLVC) are coming off a 98-62 victory over Brescia University on November 23. Junior forward Isaac McClure (Paducah, Kentucky) led a red-hot USI offensive attack with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He also was 3-of-4 from the line.

 

Senior forward Nick Duncheon (Montgomery, Indiana) followed with 17 points, while senior guard #C.J. Trotter# (Hopkinsville, Kentucky) dropped in 13 points. Duncheon was 6-of-10 from the field, including one from beyond the three-point arc, and was perfect on four attempts from the charity stripe.

 

Trotter hit four-of-six from the field, including two from long range and was to 3-out-of-4 from the line.

 

In the first four games, McClure leads USI with 15.5 points per outing off the bench and is second on the team with 7.3 rebounds per contest. Trotter follows in the scoring column with 13.3 points per appearance.

 

Senior center Mohamed Ntumba (Kinshasa, Congo), who leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game, and Duncheon round out the double-figure scorers with 12.3 and 12.0 points per contest, respectively.

 

The Norse of NKU (4-0, 0-0 GLVC) are riding high after defeating fourth-ranked Grand Valley State University, 81-64, Saturday in Highland Heights. NKU guard Josh Tabb led the way with 24 points.

 

For the season, guard Malcom Eleby leads the Norse with 15.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Tabb is second with 15.3 points per contest.

 

USI leads the all-time series with NKU, 45-18, after the teams split the two-game series last season. NKU has won five of the last eight in Highland Heights, both at Regents Hall and the Bank of Kentucky Center.

 

The Knights of Bellarmine (3-0, 0-0 GLVC) swept through the John Dickensheets Classic last weekend with wins over West Virginia State University, 103-79, and the University of Charleston, 79-59.

 

Bellarmine guard Jeremy Kendle leads the Knights in scoring this season with 24.0 points per contest.

 

USI leads the all-time series with Bellarmine, 43-28, after the squads split the season series last year. The Eagles have taken eight of the last nine from the Knights at the PAC and have a 15-5 advantage since 2000.