FINAL SCORE: Michigan Tech 75, #14 USI 70
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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The 14
th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team was upset by Michigan Tech University, 75-70, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Saturday afternoon at the O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Missouri. USI concludes the 2013-14 campaign with a 25-6 overall mark, while Michigan Tech advances with a 23-7 record.
The Screaming Eagles fell behind early, finding themselves down by nine, 12-3, before the first five minutes were gone in the game. USI battled back to tie the game, 18-18, when junior guard
Gavin Schumann (Cincinnati, Ohio) hit a three-point field goal with 9:53 left in the half.
Michigan Tech, however, responded with a 7-0 run to re-extend the lead to 25-18 in a span of two minutes. The Eagles dug deep and rallied with a 15-4 run and led at the intermission, 33-29.
The four-point USI halftime lead quick evaporated in the opening minutes of the second half. The Huskies took control and sprinted by off to a pair of nine-point leads, 57-48 and 61-52, before USI could put together another rally.
The Eagles would claw their way back again, tying the game, 63-63, and taking a lead, 66-65, with 2:36 to play, but the Huskies bounced back one last time to seal USI's fate. Michigan Tech outscored USI, 10-5, in the final minutes to clinch the first round victory.
USI senior guard
Ben Jones (Robinson, Illinois) came off the bench to lead the Eagles with a career-high 16 points. Jones was a red-hot, shooting seven-of-eight from the field and two-of three from long range.
Senior center
Aaron Nelson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) and senior forward
Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky) finished their collegiate careers by scoring 15 points each, while Schumann rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and a team-high five assists.
