EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball hit 14 of its first 18 shots and blew by Spalding University, 84-55, Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center. USI sees its record go to 9-2 overall, 6-1 at the PAC this season, while Spalding falls to 2-7.
 
The Screaming Eagles flew out to a 12-0 lead to start the game and had a 15-2 margin before three minutes were gone in the contest. USI continued its first half run until it had a 38-13 lead with 6:45 left before halftime.
 
Spalding took advantage of a USI one-for-seven shooting slump to cut the Eagles' margin to 17 points, 38-21, with 5:14 remaining until the intermission. USI would regain its shooting touch and pushed the lead back to 23 points, 47-24, by the end of the half.
 
Despite the two-minute shooting slump in the opening half, the Eagles shot 63.3 percent in the half (19-30) and were a blistering 66.7 percent from long range (4-6). Junior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) led the USI offensive surge with 12 first-half points.  
 
In the second half, USI remained in total command and pushed the lead to as many as 37 points, 65-28 before settling for the 29-point, 84-55 victory.  The Eagles remained hot from the field in the final 20 minutes, hitting 51.6 percent from the field (16-31) and were led in the final stanza by senior forward George Edwards (Chicago, Illinois) with 11 points
 
Overall in the contest, USI had its second-best shooting game of the year, 57.4 percent (35-61) and outrebounded Spalding, 37-28.
 
Individually, Edwards led four Eagles in double-digits with 20 points. The senior was a blistering nine-of-10 from the field and two-of three from line.
 
Taylor followed Edwards in the scoring column with 18 points, while freshman guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) and freshman forward Jacob Norman (Evansville, Indiana) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points each. The 11 points was a season-high for Norman.
 
USI, which is off for the next week during the NCAA Division II holiday break, concludes its holiday schedule and homestand December 30 when it hosts Purdue University North Central December 30 at 7 p.m. before restarting Great Lakes Valley Conference action after New Year's.
 
The Eagles lead the all-time series with Purdue North Central, 2-0, and will be playing the Panthers for the first time since 1973-74.  The Eagles won the last battle, 100-77, at home during the 1973-74 season.
 
The Panthers of PNC, who are 8-6 overall, have a pair of contests before coming to play the Eagles on December 30. PNC travels to Trinity International University on December 19 and hosts Madonna University on December 21 before ending 2015 with USI.