Eagles post thrilling victory on Senior Night
 
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SCORE: USI 72, BU 69

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 25^th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team came back from a 13-point first half deficit to win a thrilling 72-69 decision over Bellarmine University Thursday evening at the Physical Activities Center. USI closes out the regular season to 21-5 overall and 13-5 in the GLVC, while Bellarmine falls to 20-6 overall, 12-6 GLVC.
 
The victory makes the Screaming Eagles the sixth seed in the upcoming GLVC Tournament and pits USI against 11^th-seeded Maryville University Sunday at 3:15 p.m. at home to open post-season play. USI defeated Maryville, 64-61, on February 13 at the PAC.
 
In the first half, the Eagles started slow as the Knights pulled away to a 13-point advantage, 22-9, with 12:22 left before halftime. USI began to chip away at the margin in the final three minutes before the intermission and closed out the half on a 14-2 run to take a 40-39 halftime lead on a dunk by senior forward Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana).
 
It was USI's turn to try and pull away in the opening minutes of the second half. The Eagles extended their run to 28-6 and posted their largest lead of the game, 54-43, with 15:45 to play.
 
The Knights, however, were not about to let the Eagles cruise to their 21^st win of the season. Bellarmine would battle back to take the lead, 55-54, with 11:18 to play. From that point, the teams would swap the lead seven times and tie the contest seven more as the season finale came down to the wire.
 
After Bellarmine took the lead, 69-67, with 1:42 to play, USI senior center Aaron Nelson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) took over the game. Nelson gave the Eagles the lead, 70-69, on an old-fashion three-point play with 1:16 remaining and sealed the victory, 72-69, with a lay-up off an offensive rebound with seven seconds left.
 
USI made the three-point lead stand up in the final seconds as Bellarmine's final three-point attempt went long. The Eagles also captured a regular season, series sweep of the Knights for the first time since 2004-05.
 
Individually, Nelson led four Eagles in double-figures with 23 points and posted his 21^st double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. Junior guard Gavin Schumann (Cincinnati, Ohio) followed Nelson with 13 points, while senor forward Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky) and Wischmeier rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
 
Following the game, USI honored its eight seniors – Nelson, Wischmeier, Rutledge, senior guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois), senior forward Manny Ogunfolu (Rockville, Maryland), senior guard Ben Jones (Robinson, Illinois), senior guard DeAndre McCamey (Bellwood, Illinois), and senior forward/center Chuck Jones (Madisonville, Kentucky).