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Game Notes
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 23
rd-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team begins its toughest and most important road trips of the year when it travels to the 12
th-ranked University of Indianapolis Thursday and Saint Joseph's College Saturday. Tip-off at UIndy is set for 6:45 p.m. (CST), while the start time versus Saint Joseph's in Rensselaer, Indiana, is a special 1 p.m.
USI (16-5, 9-4 GLVC) opens the road swing in a three-way tie for second place in the GLVC East Division with UIndy and 13
th-ranked Bellarmine University. The University of Wisconsin-Parkside, which entered the national rankings this week at 21
st, leads the East by two games with three weeks left in the conference schedule.
The Screaming Eagles missed a chance to jump out in front in the GLVC East by dropping tough games to Lewis University, 63-59, and UW-Parkside, 76-72, in overtime at the Physical Activities Center during Homecoming week. The back-to-back GLVC losses at home were the first for USI since 2007-08 when it lost to the same two teams.
USI senior center
Keith DeWitt (High Point, North Carolina) and junior guard
Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) provided the few of the highlights for the Eagles. DeWitt averaged a team-best 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest, including a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) against Lewis. Thomas followed DeWitt in the scoring column with 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per outing, tying a season-best with 20 points against UW-Parkside.
For the season, junior forward
Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky) is the front-runner for the Eagles with 14.8 points per game. DeWitt follows with 12.9 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per contest.
Junior forward
Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana) and Thomas round out the double-digit scorers with 10.8 points and 10.5 points per appearance, respectively. Wischmeier has averaged 10.0 points per contest since replacing junior forward
Aaron Nelson (Chicago Height, Illinois) in the starting line-up. Thomas has picked-up his game in GLVC contests, averaging 11.0 points per game.
The Greyhounds of UIndy (15-2, 7-2 GLVC) are 6-2 in the GLVC since losing at USI, 69-55, on January 19, including a split with Bellarmine University. The Eagles lead the all-time series, 50-18, and at Indianapolis since 2000, 6-4
The Pumas of Saint Joseph's (6-14, 4-9 GLVC) are 2-6 in the GLVC since falling to the Eagles, 91-80, on January 19. USI, who had to come back from a nine-point first half deficit to win the first round with Saint Joseph's College, leads the all-time series, 48-20, and in Rensselaer, Indiana, since 2000, 6-3.
Saint Joseph's, which is averaging 71.7 points per contest through 20 games, is one of only three teams to score 80-or-more points against USI this year.
Coverage of the Eagles' GLVC games, including live stats and audio/video broadcasts, is available at gousieagles.com. The USI action also can be heard on ESPN 106.7FM and WPSR 90.7FM.
NABC/Division II Top 25
1. Metropolitan State
2. Western Washington
3. West Liberty
4. Cal Poly Pomona
5. Seattle Pacific
6. Florida Southern
7. Alabama-Huntsville
8. Minnesota State
9. East Stroudsburg
10. Saint Anselm
11. Indiana, Pa.
12. Indianapolis
(GLVC)
13. Bellarmine
(GLVC)
14. Winston-Salem State
15. Winona State
16. Saint Leo
17. Gannon
18. Drury
(GLVC)
19. Dixie State
20. Lincoln Memorial
21. Wisconsin-Parkside
(GLVC)
22. Fort Lewis
23. Southern Indiana
(GLVC)
24. North Alabama
25. Washburn
Others receiving votes: Midwestern State, Cal State-San Bernardino, Newman, Carson-Newman, Wayne State, Franklin Pierce, St. Cloud State, Wingate, Adams State, Harding, Morehouse, Colorado Mesa, Benedict, Augustana, Fairmont State, Dominican, Rollins.
