Eagles' erase 13-point deficit, but falls in final minutes

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Eighth-seeded University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball bowed out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament after losing a heartbreaker to top-seeded Bellarmine University, 76-73, in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Friday afternoon at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. USI watched its season end with a 19-11 overall mark, while Bellarmine advances with a record of 23-5.
 
The Screaming Eagles fell behind late in the first half when the Knights used a 12-3 run to seemingly take command, 38-25, with 3:14 to play before halftime. USI junior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) cut the deficit to 10 before halftime, 45-35, with a three-point field goal.
 
USI quickly made a game of it in the second half, rattling off six-straight points to pull to within four points, 45-41, with 16:17 to play. Bellarmine re-expanded the lead to 12 points, 65-53, before USI exploded on a 19-6 run to briefly take the lead, 72-71 with 1:51 left on a jumper by senior guard Travis Britt (Rantoul, Illinois).
 
The Knights, however, responded with a three-point field and held off the Eagles in the final minute for the 76-73 victory. USI had a pair of chances to send the game to overtime as freshman guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) missed a three-pointer with seven seconds left and the Eagles could not convert a long pass from the backcourt with 1.5 ticks left on the clock.
 
USI, as a team, shot 45.5 percent from the field (25-55), 47.6 from beyond the arc (10-21), but was short at the charity stripe, connecting on 54.2 percent (13-24) of its chances. The Eagles outrebounded the Knights, 33-22.
 
Individually, Drummond led USI with a team-best 18 points. He was six-of-13 from the field, dropping in five-of-seven three-point field goals.
 
Senior forward Shane Seniour (Newburgh, Indiana) finished his collegiate career at USI with 17 points, while Stein was third on the squad with 15 points. Junior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) rounded out the double-digit scorers for USI with 12 points.