ROLLA, Mo. – The University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball got back on track with an 94-87 victory over Missouri University of Science and Technology Saturday afternoon in Rolla, Missouri. USI watched its record go to 15-8 overall and 7-6 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while the Miners fell to 8-14, 4-9 GLVC.
The Screaming Eagles opened the game with a 6-2 lead, but the Miners were quick to respond. Each run either team mounted in the first half was answered by a similar run by the other team. With Missouri S&T ahead 37-35 just before the break, USI manufactured a 9-0 run fueled by a thunderous dunk by senior guard
Travis Britt and four made free throws by freshman forward
Jacob Norman. The Eagles' run was capped off by a triple from junior guard
Bobo Drummond.
The run helped the Eagles own a 44-39 lead at the halftime break. Britt and freshman guard
Alex Stein each had 10 points to lead USI through the first 20 minutes of play. In the first half, the Eagles shot 53.3% from the field on 16-30 shooting, while hitting five of 12 three pointers for 41.7%.
In the second half, Missouri S&T quickly erased the Eagles' lead. The Miners used 7-0 and 6-0 runs to take a 58-57 lead with more than 12 minutes left to play. As they did all game, USI answered with 7-2 streak to retake a 64-60 advantage. The Eagles finally opened up the game with a 16-5 run to hold an 84-72 lead in the final minutes.
USI was led by
Alex Stein, who scored a career-high 26 points, including a 4-6 shooting performance from deep. Senior
Shane Seniour added 15 points, while fellow senior
Travis Britt contributed 12. Despite not scoring in the first half, junior
Jeril Taylor finished with nine points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and four steals.
As a team, USI shot 55.9 percent from the field (33-59), 58.6 percent in the second half (17-29), and outrebounded the Miners, 34-31. The Eagles took 29 shots from the charity stripe, hitting 20, for 69 percent.
USI returns home for a pair of contests against GLVC foes Maryville University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis on February 11 and 13 respectively.
