Eagles remain second nationally

Game Notes
 
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The second-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team concludes the 2011 calendar year by hosting Harris-Stowe State University December 30 at 7:30 p.m. The game also is the halfway point of USI's four-game homestand.
 
The Screaming Eagles (9-0) are flying high through the first half of the season, posting a 9-0 mark for the seventh time in the history of the program. All seven 9-0 starts have come since 1997-98.
 
The Eagles are second nationally in the NABC/Division II Top 25 poll for the second week in a row. This is the highest ranking for the men's basketball team since the 2009-10 season. Kentucky Wesleyan College followed USI in the rankings at number four, while Bellarmine University and Northern Kentucky University were fifth and 13th, respectively.
 
USI reached the 9-0 plateau with a solid 74-45 victory over Cedarville University. The victory was highlighted by the return of senior forward Isaac McClure (Paducah, Kentucky), who came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points.
 
For the season, Hogg leads the Eagles and is tied for fifth in the GLVC with 20.1 points per game. The 20.1 points per contest is 14.5 points better than Hogg's career average.
 
Sophomore guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) follows Hogg in the scoring column with 10.7 points per contest, while junior guard Kenyon Smith (Chicago, Illinois) and sophomore forward Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana) are USI's best rebounders with 6.9 and 6.4 boards per contest,  respectively.
 
Harris-Stowe State (9-6) has won six of its last seven games. USI leads the all-time series with HSSU, 5-0, including the 105-76 victory over the Hornets last year in the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic.
 
Game coverage for both contests, including live stats and audio broadcasts, is available at gousieagles.com. The games also can be heard on ESPN 106.7FM and WPSR 90.7FM.
 
The USI-HSSU match-up concludes the 2011-12 non-conference portion of the 2011-12 schedule. The Eagles resume GLVC action January 5 at the PAC when they host Missouri University of Science & Technology.

NABC/Division II Men's Basketball Poll
(Tuesday, December 21, 2011 -- Poll #4)
 

1.	Metropolitan State (Colo.)
2.	Southern Indiana
3.	Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)
4.	Kentucky Wesleyan
5.	Bellarmine (Ky.)
6.	Missouri Southern
7.	West Liberty (W.Va.)
8.	Cal Poly Pomona
9.	Fort Hays State (Kan.)
10.	Tarleton State (Texas)
11.	Winona State (Minn.)
12.	Colorado School of Mines
13.	Northern Kentucky
14.	Alabama-Huntsville
15.	Bowie State (Md.)
16.	Humboldt State (Calif.)
17.	Arkansas Tech
18.	Findlay (Ohio)
19.	Midwestern State (Texas)
20.	Alaska-Anchorage
21.	Minnesota State-Moorhead
22.	Augustana (S.D.)
23.	Indiana (Pa.)
24.	Benedict (S.C.)
25.	Winston-Salem State (N.C.)

 

Others receiving votes: Western Washington 19, Georgia Southwestern 15, Rollins (Fla.) 14, South Carolina Aiken 13, Bentley (Mass.) 8, Southwestern Oklahoma State 8, Christian Brothers (Tenn.) 6, West Georgia 6, Hillsdale (Mich.) 5, Franklin Pierce (N.H.) 4, West Texas A&M 3.