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Score: #5 USI 78, #4 UIndy 60

USI advances with 18-point win

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The 13^th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team advanced to the GLVC Tournament semifinals with a 78-60 victory over 20^th-ranked University of Indianapolis Friday night at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois. USI, the fifth-seed, rises to 22-6 overall, while UIndy goes to 19-8.
 
The Screaming Eagles move to the GLVC Tournament semifinals for the second-straight year and are slated to play top-seeded and number-one ranked Bellarmine University at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. USI knocked off the top-ranked Knights, 75-72, last month at the Physical Activities Center,  
 
The Eagles trailed the Greyhounds, 6-0, in the opening minutes before they could kick the offense into gear. USI rallied to take its first lead of the game, 11-10, when sophomore guard Lawrence Thomas hit a jumper with 13:34 remaining before halftime. Thomas, a native of Springfield, was playing before his hometown crowd for the first time in collegiate career.
 
USI's first lead of the game sparked an exchange of five lead changes and four ties before the Eagles used a 12-2 run to take control of the half and the game. The Eagles' largest lead of the half was eight points, 30-22, with 2:15 remaining in the first half.
 
The Greyhounds fought back and cut the lead to 33-29, but the Eagles posted a 5-0 run in the final 20 seconds of the opening half to lead, 38-29, at the intermission. USI shot 53.8 percent in the first half (14-26) and had seven three-point field goals.
 
In the second half, USI quickly extended the lead to double-digits and never looked back. The Eagles methodically increased the lead to as many as 25 points, 71-46, never letting the Greyhounds any closer than 20 points until the final score of 78-60.
 
The Eagles put together a complete 40 minutes offensively against the Greyhounds, shooting 51.8 percent from the field (29-56), 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc (10-20), and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe (10-15). They also did the job defensively, making 12 steals and forced 21 Greyhound turnovers. USI scored 27 of its 78 points off turnovers.
 
USI senior guard Brandon Hogg (Edwardsville, Illinois) led three Eagles in double figures with 23 points. Hogg, who had a team-best 12 points in the first half, was 6-of-12 from the field, including a trio of three-point field goals, and a clutch 8-of-11 from the line.
 
Thomas and senior forward Isaac McClure (Paducah, Kentucky) followed Hogg with 13 points each. Junior guard Kenyon Smith (Chicago, Illinois) had a team-high four steals, while McClure had three.