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SCORE: USI 72, CU 61
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 17
th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team dominated the second half to defeat Cedarville University, 72-61, Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center. USI concludes non-conference action in 2012-13 with a 7-1 mark, while Cedarville ends the 2012 calendar year with a 7-6 record.
The Screaming Eagles started very slowly in their first game in 10 days and trailed at the intermission, 36-33. USI shot a sub-par 35.5 percent from the field (11-31) and 46.2 percent from the charity stripe (6-13). The bright spot of the opening half was the Eagles shooting from beyond the three-point arc, hitting five-of-10.
Cedarville's first half advantage was built on the strength of its six first half three-point field goals. The Yellow Jackets also were a perfect six-of-six from the line in the opening half.
The Eagles flew out of the locker room after halftime and erased the three-point deficit with back-to-back buckets by senior center
Keith DeWitt (High Point, North Carolina) and senior guard
Kenyon Smith (Chicago, Illinois). The Yellow Jacket, however, responded with six-straight points to retake the lead, 42-37, with 17:18 to play.
USI took over from this point and used a 12-1 run to take control of the game for good, leading 49-43 with 12:54 left. Cedarville chipped away at the USI advantage, cutting the lead to one point, 49-48, and to two points, 54-52, before the Eagles could pull away.
The Eagles led by as many as 11 points three times in the final two minutes, including the 72-61 final score. USI got its shot back in the second half, hitting 51.9 percent (14-27) from the field, 50 percent from long range (4-8), and 77.8 percent from the line (7-9). USI also did the job defensively in the final 20 minutes, holding Cedarville to just nine field goals (one from three-point range) and forcing10 turnovers.
Individually, USI was led by the 27-point effort of junior forward
Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky). Rutledge, who has led the Eagles in scoring each of the last four games and tied a season-high in points, was nine-of-16 from the field, six-of-10 from long range, and three-of-three from the line.
Rutledge was followed in scoring by DeWitt, who posted his first USI double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
With the start of the 2013 calendar, USI begins Great Lakes Valley Conference action at 7:30 p.m. January 3 when it hosts the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The Eagles concluded their three-game homestand January 5 against Maryville University for a 3:15 p.m. tip-off.
