USI starts post-season Thursday
COMPLETE ALL-GLVC RELEASE; USI TOURNAMENT NOTES
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference selected University of Southern Indiana senior center
Keith DeWitt (High Point, North Carolina), junior forward
Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky), and senior guard
Kenyon Smith (Chicago, Illinois) for post-season honors today. GLVC post-season awards are determined by a vote of the league's head coaches.
DeWitt was named first team All-GLVC after ranking second on the team with 14.1 points per games, while pulling a USI-best and a GLVC–best 9.0 rebounds per contest. DeWitt also led USI and the GLVC in blocked shots and offensive rebounds.
The senior center, who missed four games with knee surgery early, took charge the last few weeks of the regular season. DeWitt posted 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 blocks per outing in the last 10 contests, while recording double-doubles in seven of the last nine games.
Rutledge was named second team All-GLVC after leading the Eagles in scoring and ranking sixth in the conference with 16.0 points per game. He scored a season-high 27 points twice this season and registered his first double-double of the year, 23 points and 11 rebounds, in the season-finale win over Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Smith and DeWitt earned conference recognition by being named to the GLVC's All-Defensive Team. Smith, who was named to the team for a second-straight season, leads USI and seventh in the GLVC with 1.7 steals per game this year. DeWitt is the USI and GLVC leader with 1.82 blocks per contest.
The 18
th-ranked Screaming Eagles begin 2013 post-season action Thursday when it plays Lewis University in the Great Lakes Valley Conference quarterfinals at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. Tip-off between the third-seeded Eagles and the sixth-seeded Flyers is 8:30 p.m.
After a rough start to February, the Eagles have come on strong in the final weeks of the regular season. USI started the final month of the season 1-2 and lost two straight at the Physical Activities Center before ending the month by winning four of five contests.
In the final action of the regular season, USI clinched a first-round bye in the GLVC Tournament by defeating Kentucky Wesleyan College, 71-55. This victory marked the final meeting between the two rivals in the GLVC regular season.
The win also propelled the Eagles one spot in the NABC/Division II Top 25 poll to 18
th. USI was joined in the national rankings by Drury University (eighth); Bellarmine University (12
th); and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (17
th). Kentucky Wesleyan College also received votes.
Lewis advanced to play USI in the quarterfinals after defeating 11
th-seeded Quincy University, 73-65, at home Sunday afternoon. The Flyers have been on a roll the last month, winning eight of their last nine games, including a victory at the PAC, 63-59, in February.
Overall, USI leads the all-time series with Lewis, 41-22, after the teams split the season series. The Eagles took the game in Romeoville, Illinois, 65-64, before falling to the Flyers at home.
If the Eagles advance to the GLVC semifinals, they will face the winner of second-seeded UW-Parkside and seventh-seeded KWC match-up Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The opposite bracket features fourth-seeded Maryville University and fifth-seeded Bellarmine at noon Thursday, while top-seeded Drury and eighth-seeded University of Indianapolis complete the first session at 2:30 p.m.
The GLVC Championship game is 1 p.m. Sunday.
Coverage of the Eagles' GLVC Tournament 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.
