Final Score: Lewis 73, USI 63
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ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The ninth-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team could not overcome 14 turnovers in dropping a 73-63 decision at 19th-ranked Lewis University Thursday night in Romeoville, Illinois. USI falls to 14-2 overall and 6-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Lewis goes to 14-2, 6-2 GLVC.
The Screaming Eagles took command early by surging out to a 7-0 lead. Lewis flew back into the contest with a 10-0 run of its own and posted a 10-7 lead with 12 minutes left before halftime.
A 10-3 run put the Eagles back in the driver's seat, 21-17, and into the lead through the intermission. USI pushed its advantage back to six points, 28-22, before settling for the 28-26 halftime lead.
In the second half, it was the Flyers' turn to surge offensively and take command of the contest. Lewis used a 17-5 run in the first five minutes of the second half to take control and held the Eagles to only two-of-10 from the field to post a 43-33 advantage.
USI tried to take back control of the contest with a 10-2 rush, cutting the deficit to a point, 47-46, with 10:00 to play on an old fashioned three-point play by senior forward Aaron Nelson (Chicago Heights, Illinois). This would be as close as USI would come to taking back the lead because the Flyers would outscore the Eagles in the next five minutes, 14-5, and post a 61-51advantage.
Lewis would go on to lead by as many as 14 points, 73-59. USI would get the final four points of the contest as the game would go into the books as a 73-63 loss for the Eagles.
Individually for the Eagles, Nelson finished the game with a team-high 14 points, but saw his double-double streak end at 15 games. The senior would tie for the team lead with six rebounds.
USI senior guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) followed Nelson with 13 points, while junior guard Gavin Schumann (Cincinnati, Ohio) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points. Schumann also tied Nelson for the team-lead in rebounding with six boards.
As a team, the Eagles outrebounded the Flyers, 33-32, and outshot Lewis, 48.0 percent (24-50) to 45.2 percent (28-62). USI, however, committed 14 turnovers that resulted in 16 Lewis points.
USI concludes the three-game road swing Saturday when it visits the Rangers of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Somers, Wisconsin. The Rangers rose to 15-2 overall and a GLVC East-leading 8-0 in the league after posting a 76-74 win over seventh-ranked Bellarmine University Thursday night.
USI lead the series with UW-Parkside, 28-8, despite losing two-of-three to the Rangers a year ago. UW-Parkside swept the regular season contests, winning 77-68 in Somers and 76-72 at the PAC. The Eagles' only victory over the Rangers in 2012-13 came in the GLVC Tournament, 81-62.
