KIRKSVILLE, Mo.—University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball shot a blistering 60.7 percent (17-28) from the field in the second half as the Screaming Eagles earned a huge 80-66 Great Lakes Valley Conference road win over defending Midwest Region champion Truman State University Thursday night.
 
The Screaming Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 29-13 throughout the final 14 minutes of the contest as they turned a 53-51 deficit into a 14-point victory.
 
Sophomore guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) and junior forward Tyler Dancy (Belleville, Illinois) each had 10 points in the last 14 minutes for the Eagles, who held the Bulldogs to just 2-of-13 (.154) from the field during that span.
 
USI (10-4, 5-3 GLVC), which has won three straight games, opened the contest strong as it jumped out to a 25-13 advantage midway through the first half.
 
Truman (12-5, 6-3 GLVC), however, countered USI's hot start with a 26-9 run that put the Eagles in a five-point deficit with less than two minutes to play in the opening period.
 
Freshman guard Elijah Jones (Chicago, Illinois), however, hit a pair of free throws to cut USI's deficit to 39-36 heading into the intermission. Jones had 11 of his career-high 13 points in the first half to help keep the Eagles in contention.
 
USI came out of the break swinging as it made five of its first six shots in the second half to erase the three-point halftime deficit and lay claim to a 49-44 lead with just under 17 minutes to play. Freshman guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) scored eight of his 10 points during the run that momentarily put the Eagles in front.
 
Truman, however, bounced back with a 9-2 spurt during the next two-and-a-half minutes to briefly retake the lead; but a three-pointer by Henry, who scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, began a 20-5 push that saw the Eagles hold the Bulldogs to 0-of-7 shooting.
 
Dancy, who scored all of his season-high 10 points in the final 14 minutes, had a layup to put the Eagles up 74-61 with six minutes to play, while junior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio), who finished with 10 points and a career-high five assists, put USI up by 15 with a bucket 30 seconds later.
 
The Eagles led by as much as 17 points on multiple occasions before settling on the 14-point win.
 
In addition to his 18 points, Henry added a career-high five steals, while freshman guard Isaiah Stafford (Bolingbrook, Illinois) added eight points. Junior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) led USI with eight rebounds.
 
Junior forward Cade McKnight had 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Bulldogs, who were outscored 38-26 in the paint.
 
The Eagles, who shot 57.4 percent (31-54) for the game, return to action Saturday at 3 p.m. when they travel to Quincy, Illinois, to take on Quincy University. The Hawks (10-11, 3-8 GLVC) defeated the University of Indianapolis, 86-84, in double overtime Thursday night at Pepsi Arena.
 
Notes: USI's bench outscored Truman's reserves, 25-9, while the Eagles held a 14-7 advantage in points off turnovers.