Watson gets first NCAA II Tournament win
 
Tweet #USIMBB

Box Score (Sortable); Box Score (HTML)
Score: USI 79, WSU 70

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 15^th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team opened NCAA Division II Midwest Regional action with a convincing, 79-70, victory over Wayne State University Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Missouri. USI, the second seed, rises to 23-7 overall, while Wayne State, the seventh-seed, concludes the season, 17-10.
 
The victory was the first NCAA Division II Tournament win for USI Head Coach Rodney Watson and sets up a meeting between the Eagles and 14^th-ranked Bellarmine University Sunday at 5 p.m. The third-seeded Knights defeated the sixth-seeded University of Indianapolis, 67-61, in the regional opener.
 
The Screaming Eagles struggled early, but began to pull away from the Warriors in the final 10 minutes of the opening half. USI built a pair of 13 point leads, including the halftime score of 35-22.
 
The Eagles were able to build momentum late in first half on some hot shooting, hitting six of their last nine shots. USI junior forward Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky) led the Eagles with 11 points during the opening 20 minutes.
 
In the second half, the Eagles burst out of the locker room with a 26-10 run to extend the margin to 29 points, 63-34, with 11:36 left. USI began to cruise when WSU fought back into the game with a 20-6 run and cut the Eagles' margin to 15 points, 69-54.
 
The Eagles quickly re-extended the advantage to 20-points, 77-57, before running out the clock and settling for the 79-70 victory.
 
As a team, USI shot 53.7 percent for the game (29-54), including a blistering 60.7 percent in the second half (17-28). The Eagles also outrebounded the Warriors, 37-33, in the win.
 
Individually, Rutledge led three Eagles in double-digits with a game-high 20 points. He finished the game by sinking six-of-12 from the field, including a pair three-point field goals, and was perfect six-of-six at the line.
 
Senior center Keith DeWitt (High Point, North Carolina) followed with 16 points before fouling out, while junior forward Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14 points. Wischmeier 's shooting rebounded after a tough GLVC Tournament, hitting seven-of-12 from the field against WSU.
 
The Eagles also got a significant performance off the bench by sophomore forward Austin Davis (Freeport, Illinois), especially in the first half when DeWitt and junior forward Manny Ogunfolu (Rockport, Maryland) landed in foul trouble. Davis ended the game with eight points and five rebounds.
 
USI junior guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) also dropped in eight points, while dishing a game-high seven assists. Senior guard Kenyon Smith (Chicago, Illinois) was USI's top defender with three steals.