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Score: NSU 77, USI 76
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The seventh-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team was upset by Nova Southeastern University, 77-76, during the first night of action in the Fern Valley Hotel Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. The classic is hosted by fifth-ranked Bellarmine University.
USI suffers its first defeat of the season and falls to 5-1 overall, while Nova Southeastern goes to 3-2.
The Screaming Eagles won the first half run to halftime 38-33 after two ties and nine lead changes. USI had the largest run of the first half (15-0) that gave the Eagles the largest margin of the half, 27-18. USI senior guard
Melvyn Little (Louisville, Kentucky) ignited the lead-changing run with seven-straight points.
The Eagles' top scorer in the opening stanza was junior forward
Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky), who had 12 points in the first 12 minutes of the game.
After the intermission, the Eagles flew out of the locker room and quickly built a 10-point advantage, 49-39, with 17:29 left. The 10-point advantage would be the high-water mark for the Eagles as the Sharks would start to chip away at the USI margin.
Nova Southeastern started its run with 15 minutes left and outscored USI, 22-12, in the next nine minutes to tie the contest at 61-61 with 6:33 remaining. The Eagles responded by rebuilding the lead to five points twice, only to see the Sharks battle back each time.
USI had a chance to stick the game in the win column after Nova Southeastern missed a dunk with 14 seconds left, The Eagles, however, turned the ball over at mid-court with nine seconds left to set the stage for the Sharks' last shot. Nova Southeastern senior forward Iran Hollis scored the game-winning basket with two seconds left after grabbing an offensive rebound.
The Eagles did not get a chance in the final two seconds, turning the ball over on the inbound pass.
Individually, Rutledge added 15 points in the second half and ended the contest with a game-high 27 points. The 27-point performance was the second-straight season-high for Rutledge, who has led USI in scoring the last two games.
Three other Eagles joined Rutledge in double-digits. Junior forward center
Aaron Nelson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) followed with 14 points, while junior guard
Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) and Little rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
The Eagles did win the battle of the boards, out-rebounding the Sharks 36-28. Senior center
Keith DeWitt (High Point, North Carolina) led the Eagles with 13 rebounds in his first game back since suffering a knee injury nearly a month ago.
USI concludes the Fern Valley Hotel Classic at 4 p.m. Saturday when it plays the University of Cincinnati Clermont. The Cougars saw their record fall to 4-10 after losing to Bellarmine, 90-57, in Friday's second game.
