EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team rallied from a 13-point second half deficit to defeat Truman State University, 85-76, Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center. USI saw its record rise to15-5 overall and 6-2 in the GLVC, while Truman State goes to 11-7 overall, 6-3 GLVC.
 
USI came out slow in the opening half as Truman built an 11 point lead at three different junctures. The Bulldogs took control of the first 20 minutes with short bursts of points and would lead by eight at the intermission, 43-35.
 
The Eagles seemed to come to life in the final three minutes before halftime with a 7-0 run to cut one of the 11-point deficits to four points, 37-33, at the 2:37 mark. The Bulldogs, however, hit a pair of long range jumpers to push the lead back to 10 points before USI freshman guard Mateo Rivera (Indianapolis, Indiana) got the final two points of the half on free throws.
 
USI senior forward DayJar Dickson (Washington, D.C.) provided the offensive firepower in the first half with eight points on four-of-five from the fields. Junior guard/forward Nate Hansen (Evansville, Indiana) followed with seven points and a team-high five rebounds.
 
In the second half, the Bulldogs seemed to have command of the contest when they extended their lead to 13 points, 56-43, after a 7-2 run with 15:41 to play.
 
The USI offense kicked into high-gear over the next 10 minutes as the Eagles would go on a 32-5 run to erase the deficit and build a 14-point, 75-61 lead with 4:44 to play. Hansen and freshman forward Emmanuel Little (Indianapolis, Indiana) led the offensive charge by contributing nine and eight points, respectively.
 
Truman State would make a final push against the USI defense, cutting the 14-point lead to seven points, 83-76, with 29 seconds left, but that would be as close as the Bulldogs would come as the Eagles sealed the 85-76 victory.
 
Hansen led four Eagles in double-digits with 23 points, tying a season-high. Hansen was nine-of-15 from the field, two-of-six from downtown, and three-of-three from the line.
 
Senior guard Marcellous Washington (Lexington, Kentucky) followed Hansen in the scoring column with 13 points, while Little and Dickson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
USI junior forward Jacob Norman (Evansville, Indiana) came off the bench to grab a game-high and career-best 11 rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Norman had seven offensive boards, in addition to grabbing four defensive rebounds off the glass. Little and Hansen followed Norman in the rebound column with eight rebounds each.
 
The Eagles conclude their three-game homestand Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. match-up with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. UW-Parkside, which will be making its final appearance at the PAC as a member of the GLVC, saw its record go to 7-11 overall and 5-3 in the GLVC after posting a victory versus Rockhurst University, 81-77, today at home in Somers, Wisconsin.
 
USI is 29-12 all-time against UW-Parkside after defeating the Rangers last year, 76-72, at the PAC. Guard Jeril Taylor and junior guard Alex Stein led the Eagles' shooters with 25 and 23 points, correspondingly. USI also is 27-8 against UW-Parkside in GLVC play and 17-4 in the PAC.