EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 15th-ranked University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball got back on track with an 81-64 victory over Truman State University Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center. USI watched its record go to 13-3 overall and 5-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Truman State fell to 12-5, 4-3 GLVC.
 
After trailing 8-2 in the first two minutes of the game, the Screaming Eagles offense kicked into gear with a 14-0 run to lead 16-8 with five minutes gone in the contest. USI would eventually build the first half lead to as many as 13 points, 32-19, by halftime.
 
Junior guards Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) and Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) led the way during the opening 20 minutes with 11 points and 10 points, respectively. The pair combined for five three-point field goals before the intermission.
 
In the second half, the Eagles hit the accelerator and quickly pushed the advantage to 18 points, 42-24, before four minutes were gone in the final stanza. USI took total command of the game with 11:03 left when junior guard Cortez Macklin (Louisville, Kentucky) put the Eagles up 24 points, 57-33, with a layup.
 
The Eagles ran the margin to 24 points four times in the final 10 minutes before settling for the 17-point, 81-64 victory.
 
Drummond would lead five Eagles in double-figures with a team-high 16 points. He was five-of-nine from the field, four-of-seven from beyond the arc, and two-of-two from the line. The junior guard has drained 10 three-point field goals over the last two games.
 
Taylor followed Drummond in the scoring column with 14 points, while dishing a team-high four assists and making a team-high four steals. Freshman guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana), junior forward T.J. Tisdell (Cape Girardeau, Missouri), and junior guard Travis Britt (Rantoul, Illinois) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points each.
 
As a team, USI shot 52.7 percent from the field (29-55), 61.3 percent in the second half (19-31), and outrebounded Truman State, 45-30. USI senior forward George Edwards (Chicago, Illinois) grabbed a game-high 13 boards to control the glass.
 
USI hits the road for the next three contests, beginning with ninth-ranked Bellarmine University Monday at 7 p.m. (CST) in Louisville, Kentucky. The Knights, who are the defending NCAA II Midwest Regional and GLVC East Division champions, has won 10^th-straight and moved to 13-2 overall and 6-0 in the GLVC after defeating Quincy University at home Saturday.
 
USI leads the all-time series with Bellarmine, 49-36, and has an 8-6 advantage in the games at Knights Hall since 2000. The Eagles lost both meeting with the Knights last year, falling 83-70 at the PAC and 67-54 in Knights Hall. More on Bellarmine can be found at Athletics.Bellarmine.edu.
 
The Eagles three-game road swing concludes next weekend when they visit Lewis University (January 21) and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (January 23). Game time Thursday at Lewis is 7:30 p.m., while tip-off at UW-Parkside next Saturday is 3 p.m.