Sixth-annual Hoops for Troops Day on Saturday
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball begins a three-game homestand Thursday when it hosts Missouri University of Science & Technology for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. The homestand continues through the weekend when the Screaming Eagles welcome Truman State University to the Physical Activities Center Saturday at 3:15 p.m. for the sixth annual Hoops for Troops Military Appreciation game to honor members of the United States Armed Forces.
Veterans, military personnel and their guests will receive free tickets to the USI-Truman men's and women's basketball doubleheader with their military identification or proof of service at the front of the PAC. In addition to the free tickets, military members also will be given a concession stand voucher and gift.
The homestand concludes next week when the Eagles host the University of Wisconsin-Parkside January 25 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be the final visit by the Rangers as a member of the GLVC.
Game coverage for all of USI's game action, including live stats, video stream, and audio broadcasts, is available at
GoUSIEagles.com. The games also can be heard on ESPN 97.7 WREF and 95.7FM The Spin.
USI Men's Basketball Week 10 Notes:
Eagles' Last Two: USI downs UIndy; grounded by Bellarmine. USI posted a dominating 87-65 victory over the University of Indianapolis in its only game last week. Junior guard
Alex Stein led the Eagles with 25 points, while junior guard/forward
Nate Hansen and senior forward
Julius Rajala followed with 16 points and 14 points, respectively. Senior forward
DayJar Dickson and Rajala grabbed a team-best nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
The Screaming Eagles, after a bye weekend, started this week with a 78-62 stumble at top-ranked Bellarmine University. Stein led the Eagles with 13 points, while Hansen and freshman
Emmanuel Little added 12 points each. Freshman guard
Mateo Rivera rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
Eagle season highs. Senior forward
Julius Rajala made a career-high five blocks and senior guard
Marcellous Washington grabbed a season-high six boards in the win over UIndy. Junior forward
Jacob Norman tied a season-high with six rebounds at Bellarmine, while freshman guard
Mateo Rivera tied a season-best with five rebounds and two steals.
Stein moves up all-time scoring list. Junior guard
Alex Stein rose to seventh all-time at USI in scoring, rising two spots with the 25-point performance versus UIndy. Stein, who has posted 65 double-digit scoring games, 18 with 20-or-more points, has 1,291 career points and has established a new USI career mark for free throws made, 360, passing Billy Harris, who had 353 between 1999 and 2004.
Waston closing on 200 wins. USI Head Coach
Rodney Watson has 196 victories and is four wins away from becoming the third Eagles head coach to reach the 200-win plateau. Bruce Pearl is USI's all-time leader in wins with 231.
Leaders through 17 games. USI has three players averaging double-digits in 2017-18. Junior guard
Alex Stein leads the scorers with 19.2 points per game, while junior guard/forward
Nate Hansen and senior guard
Marcellous Washington round out the double-digit scorers with 15.4 and 12.5 points per contest, respectively. Senior forward
DayJar Dickson leads the Eagles on the glass with 7.9 rebounds per outing, 9.7 per contest in GLVC action.
Among the GLVC, NCAA leaders. Senior guard
Marcellous Washington leads the GLVC and ranks 13th nationally in steals (34, 2.1 per game). Junior guard
Alex Stein is second in the league and second nationally in free throw percentage (94.6, 93-98), while leading the GLVC and ranking 16th in NCAA II in free throws made (93).
Rajala to miss game with Missouri S&T. Due to GLVC rules, senior forward
Julius Rajala will miss the game with Missouri University of Science & Technology due to his ejection in the loss to Bellarmine. Rajala returns to action Saturday versus Truman State University.
USI in GLVC action. The Eagles begin a three-game homestand this week that includes Missouri University of Science & Technology (January 18); Truman State University (January 20); and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (January 25).
- USI vs. Missouri S&T. USI is 15-3 all-time against Missouri S&T after defeating the Miners last year, 86-78, at the PAC. Guard Jeril Taylor led the Eagles with 22 points, while junior guard Alex Stein followed with 18 points to lead five USI players in double-digits. USI also is 14-1 against Missouri S&T in GLVC play and 8-2 at the PAC.
- USI vs. Truman State. USI is 4-2 all-time against Truman State after splitting a pair of games with the Bulldogs last year (111-89 win at Truman State; 69-68 loss in the GLVC Tournament). Guard Jeril Taylor led the Eagles with program record 50 points in the win at Truman State, while senior forward Julius Rajala posted 20 points in the GLVC Tournament loss. USI also is 3-1 against Truman State in GLVC play and 3-0 at the PAC.
Missouri S&T in 2017-18. The Miners are 2-13 overall, 0-7 in the GLVC, after losing 88-74 to William Jewell College Monday. Missouri S&T has not won since defeating William Woods University on December 9, losing seven-straight.
Truman State in 2017-18. The Bulldogs, who will visit UIndy on Thursday before coming to the PAC, is 10-6 overall and 5-2 in GLVC action. After a four-game losing streak early in the year, Truman has won seven of the last nine, including a five-game streak that was stopped on Monday by Drury University.
