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Score: KWC 64, USI 58

2012 GLVC Champs finish the year 24-7

Tweet #usibbLOUISVILLE, Ky. – The sixth-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker to 18^th-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan College, 64-58, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Saturday afternoon at Bellarmine University's Knights Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. USI, the second-seed in the tournament, ends the season 24-7 overall, while KWC, the seventh seed, goes to 22-7.
 
The Screaming Eagles flew out of the gate on fire to start the game, hitting 5-of-8 from the field and leading 15-2 with 13:25 left in the opening half. The USI shooters went cold for the next five possessions and five minutes as KWC cut the lead to six points, 15-9.
 
USI regained the momentum with eight minutes left in the half and pushed the lead back to 10 points, 25-15. The Panthers, however, outscored the Eagles, 14-7, in the final five minutes before the intermission to pull within three, 32-29.
 
Senior guard Brandon Hogg (Edwardsville, Illinois) led the Eagles during the first half with 14 points, while sophomore guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) followed with nine points. Thomas was a hot 4-of-6 from the field in the opening half.
 
In the second half, senior forward Isaac McClure (Paducah, Kentucky), Hogg, and Thomas combined for seven straight points to put the Eagles up by double-digits for a second time, 44-33, with 15:06 left. Then a scoring drought hit the Eagles.
 
The Panther defense held the Eagles scoreless nearly five minutes and went on a 14-2 run to take their second lead of the game, 47-46, with just under eight minutes to play. USI would tie the score at 50-50 and 52-52, but could not get back over the hump and regain the lead. KWC pulled way in the final minute for the 64-58 final.
 
Hogg finished the game with a game-high 23 points to lead his final game. Thomas was the only other Eagle to reach double-figures, scoring 14 points.  
 
The game featured the fourth straight ranked opponent for the Eagles. USI finished the year playing the 20^th-ranked, number one-ranked, 10^th-ranked, and 18^th-ranked teams in the country.