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Score: BU 73, USI 62
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 16
th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team was stopped on the road by 15
th-ranked Bellarmine University, 73-62, Thursday evening in Louisville, Kentucky. USI falls to 18-6 overall and 11-5 in the GLVC, while Bellarmine goes to 19-5, 11-5 GLVC.
The setback drops the Screaming Eagles to 4-1 against teams ranked in the top 25 this season.
The Screaming Eagles began the game as cold as the weather, hitting only five of their first 20 shots in the opening 15 minutes. USI junior forward
Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana) was the solitary Eagle to find the range during the opening stanza and led the squad with 10 first half points.
Bellarmine was on fire during the first 20 minutes, hitting 59.1 percent (13-22) from the field and 46.7 percent from long range (7-15). The Knights took control of the game midway through the half to lead by 10 points, 27-17. Their largest lead of the opening half, 13 points, came with the halftime score of 47-34.
USI would win the battle in the second half, 28-26, but was not enough to get by Bellarmine. The Eagles knocked a 13-point deficit down to four points twice, 54-50 and 56-52, with just over 12 minutes to play and would come no closer. A 9-2 Bellarmine run stole any chance of USI keeping the momentum and overtaking the Knights in the final five minutes.
USI was led by senior center
Keith DeWitt (High Point, North Carolina), who posted his third straight-double-double of the road trip. DeWitt finished the contest with a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out.
The Eagles did win the battle on the boards, 36-24, but was out shot by the Knights, 52.4 percent (22-42) to 39.0 percent (23-59) from the field.
With the loss, USI falls into a second place tie with Bellarmine in the GLVC East Division. The Eagles remain in the hunt for one of the top four seeds and a bye in the upcoming GLVC Tournament at Ford Center in March. Currently, USI is tied with Bellarmine and Maryville University for the third spot after tonight's action.
USI returns to the friendly surroundings of Physical Activities Center for the final two-games of the year when it hosts McKendree University Saturday at 3:15 p.m. and Kentucky Wesleyan College February 28 at 7:30 p.m. The USI-KWC match-up on February 28 is the final GLVC match-up between the long-time rivals.
McKendree saw its record go to 7-19 overall and 1-15 in the GLVC after losing to Kentucky Wesleyan College, 88-64, tonight in Owensboro, Kentucky.
