EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball won its 32^nd-straight home opener in a shootout with Lees-McRae College, 118-104, Wednesday evening at the Physical Activities Center. USI goes to 2-1 overall and begins a five-game homestand with a victory, while Lees-McRae sees its record go to 0-4.
 
The 118-point performance is the first time USI has eclipsed the century mark since 2013-14 and the first time at the PAC since first half of 2012-13. In addition, the last time USI and an opponent both reached 100 points was January of 2003 when the Screaming Eagles defeated Saint Joseph's College, 115-103, in overtime.
 
The Eagles were slow out of the gate and trailed by five points early, 11-6, before they started to fire up the jets. Down 13-10, USI went on a 15-1 run to take control in the first half, 21-14, with 12:30 left before halftime.
 
USI would post a trio of nine-point leads in the final 10 minutes of the opening half only to see the Bobcats rally to tie the contest, 53-53, with 1:54 remaining to intermission. The Eagles would push the margin back to five points by halftime, 60-55, on a pair of buckets by sophomore center Davis Carter (Denver, Colorado) and a three-point bomb by junior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois).
 
In the second half, USI methodically built the lead to 13 points, 88-75, but could not leave Lees-McRae behind. The Bobcats continually cut the Eagle advantage to single digits until USI pulled away for good in the final minutes. The Eagles would post their largest lead of the game, 15 points, twice before settling for the 14-point, 118-104 final.
 
Drummond led the way for USI with a career-high 24 points. He was a blistering eight-of-nine from the field and set a USI single-game record with seven-of-seven from the beyond the three-point arc. The perfect seven-of-seven breaks the school record of six-of-six that had been reached five times, including the last time by Geoff Van Winkle in 2004.
 
Following Drummond in the scoring column was senior forward George Edwards (Chicago, Illinois), who had a season-high 21 points. Edwards was nearly as hot as Drummond, dropping in eight-of-11 from the field, while collecting five free throws.
 
Rounding out the double-digit scorers were junior forward Terrence Tisdell (Cape Girardeau, Missouri) and junior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) with their first USI double-doubles. Tisdell post a season-high 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Taylor dropped in 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
Overall as a team, USI shot 56.5 percent from the field (39-69), 60 percent from beyond the arc (9-15), and 68.9 percent from the line (31-45). The Eagles also outrebounded the Bobcats, 45-36.
 
USI continues its homestand November 24 when it hosts former Great Lakes Valley Conference rival Kentucky State University for a 7:30 p.m. contest. KSU is 1-1 after defeating Asbury University, 97-84, this evening in Frankfort, Kentucky, and is scheduled to play Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis on the road Saturday before visiting USI next Tuesday.
 
The Eagles hold an 18-3 all-time lead over the Thorobreds after winning last year's meeting, 85-74, at the PAC.