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Score: USI 63, Rockhurst 31
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The seventh-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team turned up the defense at Rockhurst University and posted a 63-31 victory Saturday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri. USI rises to 13-1 overall and 5-1 in the GLVC, while Rockhurst goes to 5-9, 2-4 GLVC.
The Screaming Eagles spotted the Hawks an early 5-2 lead before going on a 14-2 run to take control, 16-7, with 8:09 left in the opening stanza. Rockhurst rallied in the final eight minutes before halftime and the cut the lead to five points, 22-17, at the intermission.
In the second half, the USI made a defensive stand and limited Rockhurst to just 14 points. The Eagles quietly pulled away from the Hawks offensively, extending the lead from five points at halftime to 33 points, 63-30, with 2:21 to play. Rockhurst got the final point of the game for the 63-31 final.
Overall, USI held Rockhurst to just 23.6 percent from the field (13-55) in the game – 18.5 percent in the second half (5-27) – and 14.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc. The Eagles also outrebounded the Hawks, 42-31.
USI senior forward
Isaac McClure (Paducah, Kentucky) led the way for the Eagles with his second double-double of the year, 17 points and 10 rebounds. The double-double also was the third of McClure's career at USI.
The second half offensive spark for the Eagles came from the hot shooting of junior guard
Melvyn Little (Louisville, Kentucky). Little scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, highlighted by three three-point fields in a span of three minutes
Eagles' senior guard
Brandon Hogg (Edwardsville, Illinois) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
USI returns to the friendly surroundings of the Physical Activities Center to start a three-game homestand, beginning Monday at 7:30 p.m. against second-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan College. USI fans are encouraged to wear white and “white out the PAC” on Monday.
KWC ran its record to a perfect 14-0 overall and 6-0 in the GLVC with a 72-63 victory over Williams Jewell College Saturday in Liberty, Missouri.
