EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The sixth-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team won a wild, back-and-forth game at Quincy University, 80-68, Saturday afternoon in Quincy, Illinois. USI, which has won 10-straight games, takes its record to 15-1 overall and 7-1 in the GLVC, while Quincy falls to 10-5, 3-4 GLVC.
The victory also broke USI's four-game losing streak at Pepsi Arena. The Screaming Eagles also remain perfect away from the Physical Activities Center this year at 6-0.
A wild first half ended with the Eagles leading, 39-37. The Eagles started the game by building an 18-4 lead after hitting eight of their first 10 shots. The Hawks flew back into the game with a 24-8 run and took a 28-26 lead with 5:47 remaining in the opening half.
During its 24-8 run, the Hawks hit 7-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc.
The final five minutes of the first half saw four lead changes before the Eagles went into the locker room with the lead when senior guard
Kevin Gant (Indianapolis, Indiana) gave USI a 39-37 advantage with two seconds to play.
USI senior guard #C.J. Trotter# (Hopkinsville, Kentucky) was the Eagles' top scorer during the first half, dropping in 15 points, while senior center
Mohamed Ntumba (Kinshasa, Congo) had 10 points.
Quincy seized the momentum early in the second half with a 15-5 run to lead 52-44 with 15:23 left. USI climbed back into the contest with a 12-5 run of its own to close the deficit to 57-56 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Junior guard
Brandon Hogg (Edwardsville, Illinois) tied the game, 62-62, with a lay-up, while Ntumba gave the Eagles back the lead, 64-62, with a pair of free throws with just over six minutes to play. Those four points were the start of a 20-6 run to the final score of 80-68.
Individually, Trotter led four players in double figures with 22 points. He was 7-of-13 from the field, including four three-point field goals, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Ntumba followed Trotter in the scoring column with 17 points and a team-best nine rebounds, while Gant and junior forward
Isaac McClure (Hopkinsville, Kentucky) rounded out the top scorers with 16 points and 13 points respectively. McClure also grabbed eight rebounds.
The Eagles return to the friendly surroundings of the PAC Monday when they host the 18th-ranked Panthers of Kentucky Wesleyan College. The Panthers went to 12-2 overall and 5-2 GLVC after posting an 86-65 win at the University of Illinois-Springfield.
