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SCORE: USI 94, McKendree 64
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 16
th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team got back on track with a 94-64 pounding of McKendree University Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center. USI rises to 19-6 overall and 12-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while McKendree falls to 7-20 overall mark, 1-16 GLVC.
The Screaming Eagles led from start to finish after exploding for a 14-0 run to begin the contest. USI would expand the lead to as many as 28 points twice in the opening half before settling for the 54-30 margin at the intermission.
The Eagles were a blistering 59.5 percent from the field (22-37) and were led by the 22-first half points of junior forward
Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky). Rutledge was a red hot 10-13 from the field, including a pair of three-point field goals.
USI maintained control in the second half, never leading by fewer than 23 points, 56-33, and advanced the lead to game-high 35 points, 94-59, with just under two minutes to play. The Eagles cooled down to 52.9 percent from the field in the second half (18-34) and finished the game hitting 56.3 percent (40-71).
In the lane, the Eagles ruled the glass by outrebounding the Bearcats, 53-18, and outscored McKendree, 42-13, in the paint.
Individually, Rutledge finished with a game-high and season-best 29 points, barely missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Senior center
Keith DeWitt (High Point, North Carolina) followed Rutledge in the scoring column with 22 points, while grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.
DeWitt, who posted his third-straight double-double and his eighth of the season, narrowly missed a triple-double with a game-high seven assists.
The Eagles conclude the 2012-13 campaign at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night when they host Kentucky Wesleyan College for Senior Night. USI also will be hosting KWC for the final GLVC regular-season match-up between the two programs.
A victory over KWC Thursday will clinch a first round bye for USI in the upcoming GLVC Tournament and allow the Eagles to advance to the quarterfinals of the league playoffs at the Ford Center March 7-10. The top four teams in the GLVC receive a first-round bye, while the seeds five through 12 start the conference tournament on campus sites March 3.
