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SCORE: USI 94, King 72
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana senior forward Aaron Nelson (Chicago, Illinois) recorded his third-straight double-double in leading the 14th-ranked Screaming Eagles to a 94-72 victory over King University on the first night of the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic at the Physical Activities Center. USI rises to 3-0 overall, while King falls to 2-3 in 2013-14.
Nelson led all scorers with 23 points and all rebounders with a game-high and career-best tying 14 boards. He had reached the 14-rebound plateau a year ago in the second game of the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic when the Eagles defeated Philander Smith College.
In addition to Nelson, five other Eagles reached double-digits in points. Senior forwards Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana) and Manny Ogunfolu (Rockville, Maryland) followed Nelson with 14 points each, while junior guard Gavin Schumann (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted his first double-double as an Eagle with 13 points and 11boards. Ogunfolu's 14 points marked a second-straight career-best game for the senior.
USI senior guards Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) and Ben Jones (Robinson, Illinois) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points each. Thomas also had a season-high and team-high seven assists.
After a tight four minutes to start the contest, the Eagles pulled away in the first half. USI used a 13-5 run to take control, 20-13, with 9:33 left in the first half and built the lead to as many as 16 points before settling for the 13-point halftime lead, 45-32.
The Eagles continued to expand the lead in the final half, never letting the margin fall below 12 points. USI would post its largest lead of the contest, 22 points, in the final score of 94-72.
Overall, USI dominated the boards, 45-22, and shot 57.4 percent from the field (39-68). The Eagles were a blistering 70 percent from outside in the second half, hitting 21-of-30 shots.
The Bill Joergens Memorial Classic concludes Saturday evening with third-ranked Bellarmine University taking on King at 5:15 p.m., while USI plays Indiana University Southeast at 7:30 p.m. Bellarmine, which rose to 3-0 overall, defeated IU Southeast, 88-75, in the first game of the classic, dropping the Grenadiers to 5-2 overall.
