Eagles dominate Panthers, 75-57
 
Final Score: #20 USI 75, #4 Drury 57
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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 20^th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team sprinted to its fourth-straight Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title game with a 75-57 victory over fourth-ranked and top-seeded Drury University in the semifinals Saturday night at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. USI rolls to a 24-5 overall mark, while Drury goes to 25-3 in 2013-14.
 
Sunday's GLVC championship game will be an all GLVC East Division affair as the Screaming Eagles will play Bellarmine University at 3:30 p.m. Bellarmine defeated the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, 90-78, in the second semifinal contest. 

USI will be shooting for its 12^th GLVC crown and its four conference tournament championship.
 
The Eagles posted three 10-point leads and held onto an eight-point margin at halftime, 33-25. USI dominated the opening minutes, flying out to a 12-2 lead and maintained the margin at 18-8 and 31-21.
 
In the second half, USI blew the game open with a 23-5 run to lead by 25 points, 55-30, with 9:10 to play. The 23-5 run was a team effort as seven Eagles contributed to the run, led by senior forward Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky), who had seven points in the surge.
 
The top-seeded Panthers were not about to let the Eagles cruise to the win, cutting the margin to 12 points, 61-49, with 5:26 remaining. USI put the brakes on the Drury run and re-extended its lead to 21 points, 70-49, when sophomore guard Evan Brinkmeyer (Evansville, Indiana) capped off a 9-0 run with a pair of free throws.
 
Drury would chip away at the USI advantage in the final two minutes before the Eagles pulled away one last time and ended the game with the 75-57 victory.
 
As a team, the Eagles sparkled defensively against the Panthers. USI held the high-octane Drury offense to just 30.8 percent from the field (20-65) and 20 percent from beyond the arc (4-20), while outrebounding the Panthers, 48-28.
 
USI senior forward/center Aaron Nelson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) had the hot hand for the Eagles and scored a team-high 16 points. Nelson was 8-of-11 from the field, while also grabbing nine rebounds and blocking four shots.
 
Four additional Eagles followed Nelson in double-figure scoring. Rutledge was second on the squad with 13 points, while senior guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) and junior guard Gavin Schumann (Cincinnati, Ohio) dropped in 11 points each.
 
Senior forward Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and followed Nelson on the glass with eight rebounds.
 
NOTE: Win or lose on Sunday, USI fans are invited to watch the NCAA Division II Tournament selection show with the Eagles Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. at Buffalo Wild Wings on Pearl Drive in Evansville. Fans, who are unable to be at Buffalo Wild Wings, can watch the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Selection Show at home on NCAA.com.