EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana junior forward
George Edwards (Chicago, Illinois) scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 91-86 overtime victory versus Shorter University (Ga.) Thursday evening at the Physical Activities Center. USI rises to 2-0 overall, while Shorter sees its record drop to 3-1.
Edwards was nine-of-19 from the field and six-of-eight from the charity stripe for his 24 points, 19 of them coming in the second half and overtime. The junior forward also recorded five offensive rebounds and nine defensive boards for the game-high 14 rebounds.
Following Edwards in the scoring column was senior guard
Gavin Schumann (Cincinnati, Ohio) with 17 points, while senior guard
TeNale Roland (Louisville, Kentucky) and sophomore guard
Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 16 points and 15 points, respectively.
USI was flat to start the contest falling into a 10-point deficit, 13-3, early and hitting only one of their first four shots. The Eagles began to dig themselves out of the hole with 14:29 to play in the opening half when Roland hit a bucket to end a 6-0 Hawks run and start a 19-7 Eagles' run with 8:22 left before halftime.
The 19-7 run by USI would give the Eagles their first and largest lead of the opening 20 minutes. Roland led the offensive burst with seven points as the Eagles hit seven of nine from the field during the run.
The teams would trade leads over the next five minutes before Shorter used a 7-0 run to take a six point lead, 32-26, with 2:18 left in the first half. USI would rally in the final two minutes before the intermission, but went into the locker trailing by two points, 34-32.
In the second half, junior forward
Shane Seniour (Newburgh, Indiana) started a 5-0 run to get the Eagles in to the lead, 37-34. USI would gradually gain momentum, pushing the lead to seven points, 63-56, with 9:12 remaining in regulation. Shorter, however, was not about to go quietly.
The Hawks bounced back with a 9-2 run to regain the lead, 69-67, and extended the margin to five points twice, the final time, 78-73, coming with 17 seconds on the clock.
The Eagles rallied in the final seconds of the second half, getting three-point field goals by Drummond and Roland to tie the contest at 79-79 at the end of regulation. Roland's game-tying three-point bomb from the right corner came with one tick on the clock.
In the overtime period, senior forward
Austin Davis (Freeport, Illinois) got the Eagles off to a good start and an 82-79 lead with a three-pointer. Shorter would tie USI twice in overtime before the Eagles nailed down the 91-86 victory. Schumann would led the Eagles in overtime with four points, while Edwards and Davis had three-points each.
The Eagles reach the halfway mark of their season-opening five-game homestand Saturday when they host Kentucky State University for a 3:15 p.m. contest. The Thorobreds fell to 1-1 Wednesday night when they lost to Indiana University Southeast, 81-74, in New Albany, Indiana.
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