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Score: USI 61, Lewis 59

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana sophomore forward Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana) dunked the game-winning bucket with 34 seconds remaining as the fifth-ranked Screaming Eagles defeated Lewis University, 61-59, Thursday night in Romeoville, Illinois). USI rises to 5-0 overall and 1-0 GLVC, while the Lewis falls to 4-1, 0-1 GLVC.
 
The Flyers had control early in the first half, but the Eagles erased the deficit by the first media timeout. USI used a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 13-9, and increased the margin to six points, 19-13, with 8:35 remaining in the opening half.
 
The Eagles withstood a 5-0 run by the Flyers and followed with an 8-0 run of their own to post their largest lead of the half, 29-20. USI sophomore guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) sparked the run with five of the eight points on a three-point field goal and a pair of free throws. Lewis scored the final five points of the first 20 minutes and sent the teams into the locker room with USI leading, 29-25.
 
USI returned the margin to eight points, 35-27, in the opening minutes after halftime, but Lewis rebounded with a 9-2 run to close to within one point, 37-36. USI senior guard Brandon Hogg (Edwardsville, Illinois) put the Eagles back in control with back-to-back three-point bombs for a 43-36 lead with 11:31 left.
 
Lewis made run-after-run at USI, but the Eagles continued to push the lead back to six points each time. The Flyers broke through the Eagles' defense with a 5-0 run and tied the game, 59-59, with 57 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Wischmeier.
 
Hogg scored 20 points to lead three USI players in double figures, hitting eight-of-16 from outside with three coming from beyond the three-point arc. Thomas followed Hogg in the scoring column with 18 points, dropping in seven-of-13 from the field and connected on three long-range buckets.
 
Wischmeier rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points, including the game winner. He also tied for a game-high with seven rebounds.
 
The Eagles reach the halfway mark of their four-game road swing Saturday at 3 p.m. when they travel to Somers, Wisconsin, to play the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The Rangers fell to 4-2 overall and 0-1 GLVC after losing in overtime to ninth-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan College, 81-78, this evening.