ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The 25th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team went cold in the second half and stumbled at Lewis University, 84-77, Thursday evening in Romeoville, Illinois. USI watched its record go to 13-5 overall and 5-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Lewis rose to 13-5, 5-3 GLVC.
 
It was bombs away for the Screaming Eagles from long range in the opening half as junior guards Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) and Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Illinois) combined for seven three-point field goals to lead USI to a 40-39 halftime lead. Drummond had four long range buckets and led the Eagles with 12 points in the opening half, while Taylor had three three-point baskets and had 11 points.
 
USI, which trailed twice in the opening 20 minutes, led by as many as nine points, 23-14 and 25-16, before going into the intermission with the one-point lead. There were four ties and three lead changes in the first half.
 
In the second half, Lewis burst out of the locker room with five-straight points to regain the lead, 43-40. The GLVC-battle would roll back-and-forth with 10 ties and nine lead changes in the final 20 minutes.
 
USI never led by more than two points throughout the second half, while Lewis posted its largest margin of the game, nine points, 84-75, before the Eagles got the final bucket in the 84-77 decision. The Eagles' final lead came with 4:25 remaining, 74-73, on a four-point play by freshman guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) before USI went without a basket for the next 4:24.
 
Overall, USI was outrebounded for just the fourth time this year, 37-32, shooting 40.3 percent from the field (25-62) and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc (9-27). The Eagles cooled off in the second half from long range, hitting only two-of-14 three-point field goals.
 
Individually, Drummond led four USI players in double-digits with 22 points. The junior guard was eight-of-15 from the field, five-of-10 from three-point range, and one-of-one from the line.
 
Taylor and junior forward T.J. Tisdell (Cape Girardeau, Missouri) followed with 13 points each, while Stein rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. Stein has hit for double-digits in 14 of his 18 games as a freshman.  
 
The Eagles conclude their three-game road swing when they visit the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Saturday at 3 p.m. The Rangers, who are ranked 14^th in the D2SIDA Division II Media Poll and 24^th in the NABC Division II Top 25, watched their record go to 14-2, 7-1 GLVC, after 85-82 overtime win over Bellarmine University tonight in Somers, Wisconsin.
 
USI leads the all-time series with UW-Parkside, 28-10, and has a 7-4 advantage in the games in Somers, Wisconsin, since 2000. The Eagles lost last year's match-up with the Rangers, 73-50, and has lost the last four regular season contests with UW-Parkside. USI's only win over UW-Parkside since 2011-12 came in the 2013 GLVC Tournament.
 
Live coverage of the USI-UW-Parkside match-up is available at GoUSIEagles.com.