NASHVILLE, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball graduate forward
Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) and sophomore guard
Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) combined for 50 points in leading the Screaming Eagles over Tennessee State University, 93-81, Saturday afternoon in Nashville, Tennessee. The Eagles go to 16-15 overall and 9-9 in the OVC, while the Tigers are 18-13, 10-8 OVC.
With the victory, USI finishes its first NCAA Division I regular season over .500 and its first season in the Ohio Valley Conference at the .500 mark.
In a game that saw only five Eagles post points in the scoring column, Lakes and Swope led the way. Lakes score his 25 points on red hot seven-of-11 from the field, five-of-nine from beyond the arc, and a perfect six-of-six from the line for this third highest point total of the season.
Swope ended the game eight-of-18 from the field, including a pair of three-point field goals, and a perfect seven-of-seven from the stripe for his 10
th 20-point game of the season and his fourth straight. The sophomore guard is averaging 24.8 points per contest in the last four outings.
USI senior guard
Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) followed Lakes and Swope with 16 points, including his 1,000-career point as a Screaming Eagle. Simmons ties Chad Gilbert (1994-96) for 21
st all-time at USI with 1,011 career points as an Eagle and has 1,441 career points in his collegiate career (1,011 at USI; 430 at Youngstown State University). He is the 23
rd Eagle all-time to reach 1,000 points in a USI uniform.
USI sophomore guard
Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) and senior forward
Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) rounded out the USI offense in the contest with 15 points and 12 points, respectively. Polakovich also grabbed 15 rebounds to complete his 14
th double-double of the season and his 20
th double-figure rebounding game of the year.
In the contest, USI had to battle back from a nine-point deficit in the first half to tie the game before halftime, 37-37. Hernandez and Polakovich led the push to tie that game at the intermission with four points each as USI went on a 13-4 run to conclude the half.
The second half started with the Tigers outscoring the Eagles, 8-4, to top off the final 20 minutes and take a 45-41 lead. The Eagles responded with a 12-2 run to push in front, 53-47, when Swope connected on a three-point field goal with 13:27 to play.
TSU, however, was not done as it would re-take the lead, 56-55, with just under 11 minutes to play. That would be the last time USI would trail as the Eagles began to methodically pull away, extending the lead to a game-best 13 points, 80-67, with 2:43 to play.
USI and TSU would trade points in the final three minutes as the Eagles closed out the 93-81 victory. The 93 points were the second-highest point total of the season for USI.
Next Up For USI: OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The USI Eagles are the seventh seed to start OVC Tournament action Wednesday at 9 p.m. when they take on Southern Illinois University Edwardsville at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The Cougars, the sixth seed, finished the regular season with an 18-13 overall and 9-9 OVC mark.
SIUE won its regular season finale today with Southeast Missouri State University, 93-78, at home to earn the sixth seed and earn the tie breaker with USI.
USI leads the all-time series with SIUE that started in 1971-72, 45-21. The Eagles and the Cougars split the 2022-23 season series, each winning on the others home court (SIUE 69, @USI 62; USI 82, @SIUE 72). The Eagles also have won four of the last five games with the Cougars after this season's split (dating back to 2007).
In the post-season, SIUE has a 3-0 lead over USI, all NCAA Division II Tournament meetings. The Cougars won the 1986 (90-87) and 1987 (88-82) NCAA II Great Lakes Regional meetings in Owensboro, Kentucky, and the 2006 (64-60) NCAA II Midwest Regional in Rensselaer, Indiana.
The games will be streamed on
ESPN+ (with cable subscription) in addition to being heard on
ESPN 97.7FM and
95.7FM The Spin.
