Nelson sets double-double mark
Final Score: USI 86, Rockhurst 68
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The eighth-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team sailed by Rockhurst University, 86-68, to open Great Lakes Valley Conference action Friday evening in Kansas City, Missouri. USI rises to 9-0 overall and 1-0 in the GLVC, while Rockhurst goes to 4-5, 0-2 GLVC.
The Screaming Eagles flew out of the gate with a 7-0 run and rushed out to a 12-point lead, 18-6, with 11:59 left before halftime. Rockhurst, however, would go on a 19-7 run of its own to knot the game up at 25-25 with 7:51 remaining in the first half. The 25-25 score was the only tie of the game and the Eagles would never trail.
After the Hawks tied the score, USI's offense regained its stride and used an 11-0 run to build a new lead of 36-25 with 3:42 left before the intermission. Rockhurst was able to close the gap to seven-points before halftime, 39-32, by scoring seven of the last 10 points of the half.
The second half began with the Eagles doubling the halftime lead in the first six minutes to 15 points, 51-36. USI would seal the game with 9:24 to play by pushing the margin to 21 points, 63-42. The lead would be extended to as many as 23 points twice in the final three minutes before the Eagles settled for the 18-point, 86-68 win.
USI senior forward
Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky) led four Eagles to reach double-digits with 17 points, hitting four-of-11 from the field and nine-of-12 from the line. Senior forward
Aaron Nelson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) followed with 15 points and 15 rebounds, setting a USI record with his ninth-straight double-double.
Rutledge and Nelson were followed in the scoring column by junior guard
Gavin Schumann (Cincinnati, Ohio), who had 11 points, and senior guard
Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois), who dropped in 10 points.
As a team, the Eagles shot 46.2 percent from the field (30-65), 35.6 percent from long range (5-14), and 70 percent from the stripe (21-30). They also outrebounded Rockhurst, 50-29.
USI concludes the first GLVC road-swing of the year Sunday when it visits William Jewell College for a 3 p.m. contest. The Cardinal fell to 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the GLVC after dropping a 73-63 decision to second-ranked Bellarmine University at home tonight in Liberty, Missouri.
The Eagles return to the friendly surroundings of the Physical Activities Center next week when they start a four-game homestand, beginning with Missouri University of Science & Technology January 9. USI ends the first half of the homestand February 11 when it hosts third-ranked and defending NCAA Division II national champion Drury University.
