SOMERS, Wis. – The University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team broke its four-game losing streak and reached 20 wins for the second-straight season with a 68-67 win at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Thursday evening in Somers, Wisconsin. USI, which has won 20-or-more games in seven of the last nine years, saw its overall record rise to 20-9, 11-6 in the GLVC, while UW-Parkside goes to 9-18 overall, 7-10 GLVC.
 
Tonight's match-up was USI's final GLVC visit to UW-Parkside, which is leaving the league at the end of the year and joining the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
 
The Screaming Eagles trailed by two at the intermission, 30-28, after a first half that featured eight lead changes and seven ties. USI trailed by eight, 13-5, before going on a 15-5 run to get a 20-18 advantage on a jumper by junior guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana), who finished the first half with 10 points on five-of-seven from the field.
 
The Rangers used a 7-4 run in the final four minutes of the opening 20 minutes to post the two-point halftime advantage.
 
USI flew out of the locker room to start the second half, recording an 18-6 run to post its largest margin of the game, 46-36, after senior center Davis Carter (Denver, Colorado) hit a free throw with 13:23 to play. The Rangers, however, were not done in the second half.
 
UW-Parkside rallied to regain the lead with 9:22 remaining on a 15-4 run, 51-50. The Rangers would increase the lead to as many as four points, 58-54, before the Eagles used an 8-2 run to take the lead for good at 62-60 after freshman guard Mateo Rivera (Indianapolis, Indiana) hit a three-point bomb with no time left on the shot clock and 3:42 left.
 
Stein and senior guard Marcellous Washington (Lexington, Kentucky) would sealed the Eagles victory by converting on four free throws in the final two minutes to provide a large enough margin for the 68-67 win. The Rangers missed a last second shot as the Eagles' defense held on to break the losing streak.
 
As a team, USI shot 54.9 percent from the field (28-51), 44.4 percent from long range (4-9), and eight-of-11 from the line.
 
Stein, who saw his latest consecutive free throw streak end at 40 with a miss at the end of the game, led the Eagles with a team-high 16 points. He was seven-of-13 from the field and two-of-three from the stripe.
 
Freshman forward Emmanuel Little (Indianapolis, Indiana) followed Stein in the scoring column with 11 points, while junior guard/forward Nate Hansen (Evansville, Indiana) had 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers. Little also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
 
The Eagles conclude the 2017-18 regular season and their four-game road trip Saturday when they visit Lewis University for a 3 p.m. contest. The Flyers, who were idle this evening, are 14-13 overall, 9-8 GLVC, and in the middle of a three-game winning streak.
 
USI ran the all-time series lead over Lewis to 46-24 after the thrilling overtime victory, 85-74, back in November. The Eagles had to overcome an 11-point second half deficit, using a 12-1 run at the end of regulation to send the contest into extra time, and was led by the 22-point performance of Washington. Lewis leads the series in match-ups in Romeoville, 14-10.