EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The12th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team opened the GLVC Tournament with a 92-64 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Saturday evening at the Physical Activities Center. USI raises its record to 23-4 overall, while UW-Parkside ends the season 9-18.

 

The victory earns USI a trip to the GLVC Tournament semifinals March 5 at noon in St. Louis, Missouri. The Screaming Eagles will play the winner of the Drury University-Lewis University match-up that is scheduled for March 4 at noon. The second round, semifinals, and championship game, which is scheduled for March 6 at 1 p.m., are being played at Maryville University.

 

The Eagles took control in the final 10 minutes of the first half with a 16-2 run and finished the opening 20 minutes with a 20-point lead, 47-27. USI senior center Mohamed Ntumba (Kinshasa, Congo) led the Eagles during the first half with a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds.

 

USI continued to cruise in the second half, extending the lead to as many as 38 points, 90-52, with 4:43 to play before settling for the 92-64 victory.

 

Ntumba finished the game with a team-high 16 points and 13 rebounds. The first team All-GLVC selection was six-of-12 from the field and four-of-five from the charity stripe.

 

Junior forward Isaac McClure (Paducah, Kentucky) followed Ntumba in the scoring column with 15 points off the bench. McClure, who was a blistering seven-of-10 from the field, also grabbed six rebounds.

 

Senior guard #C.J. Trotter# (Hopkinsville, Kentucky) and freshman center Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points and 10 points respectively. Wischmeier's 10 points was a season-high.