LIBERTY, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball returned to the court for the first time in two weeks and held on to defeat William Jewell College, 78-71, Friday evening in Liberty, Missouri. USI sees its record to go 8-3 this season, while William Jewell ends the evening 3-12.
 
After trading buckets for the first few minutes, it was the Cardinals that took the early advantage with a 5-0 spurt to lead, 9-4. The Screaming Eagles responded with a 10-3 run to surge into the lead, 16-12, with 12:43 to play in the opening half when senior forward Clayton Hughes drained back-to-back three point bombs.
 
The USI run would extend to a 24-9 explosion and produced a 28-18 lead with 9:35 left in the opening stanza. Senior forward Josh Price took command of the game during the race to a 10-point lead with 16 of the run's 24 points and finished the opening half with 18 points.
 
William Jewell produced a run of its own during the final nine minutes of the half, closing to within four points, 34-30, at the intermission. The Cardinals outscored the Eagles, 12-6, before the break.
 
Price led the Eagles back to the court in the second half and ignited a 10-2 run to put USI up 44-32. USI continued to enlarge the margin to as many as 16 points, 64-48, with 8:40 left.
 
The Cardinals, however, were not ready to concede the contest and began to chip away at the Eagles' lead. William Jewel climbed to within two points, 73-71, with 2:38 to play, capping a 23-9 run.
 
USI's defense clamped down on William Jewell for the final 2:30, holding the Cardinals scoreless in four attempts from the field. Junior guard Jelani Simmons and Price scored the final five points for the Eagles and sealed the 78-71 victory.
 
In the scoring column, Price would add 16 second half points and finish with a game-high 34 points. The senior forward, who reached 30-or-more points for the second-straight game, was 13-of-22 from the field, two-of-four from downtown, and six-of-11 from the stripe. He also completed his sixth double-double of the year with a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
Hughes followed Price in the scoring column with 13 points, while Simmons dropped in 12 and posted his first double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Senior guard Mateo Rivera rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points.  
 
USI, which increased its lead in the GLVC East to three games, finishes the road swing tomorrow when it visits Rockhurst University for a 4 p.m. tip. The Hawks, who are 8-7 overall and second in the GLVC West Division, started their week with a 69-65 loss at home Thursday to McKendree University that ended a four-game winning streak.
 
The Eagles holds a commanding 19-3 series lead over the Hawks, including 16 of the last 18. Rockhurst, however, won the first meeting of the year at Screaming Eagles Arena, 81-70, in the season opener. Simmons led the way in the loss with 26 points, while Price followed with a double-double, 15 points, 11 rebounds.
 
Following Saturday's contest, USI returns home for three-straight at Screaming Eagles Arena after playing seven-of-eight on the road.