EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball won its second-straight in the homestand with a big 87-77 victory over Indiana State University Monday evening at Liberty Arena. The Screaming Eagles conclude November with a 3-4 mark, while the Sycamores go to 3-3 in 2024-25.
 
USI was up 8-0 in a blink of an eye to start the game and 10-3 before four minutes were gone in the contest. ISU's offense would wake up and close the gap to 11-9 with a 6-1 run with 12:51 to play in the half.
 
The Eagles took command of the first half with a 14-6 surge at 11:42 to push the lead to 11, 28-17. Junior guard Jayland Randall led the surge with nine of the 14 points as the Eagles were five-of-six from the field as a team during the run.
 
The USI lead was extended to as many as 12 points, 36-24, when junior guard Damoni Harrison hit a jumper with 2:09 left in the half and before the Eagles finished out the half with a 40-29 advantage. Seven Eagles scored during the first half with Randall leading the way with 13 points.
 
After halftime, USI re-extended the lead to 11 points, 43-32, before ISU went on a 10-3 run to close the gap to four points, 46-42, with 15:27 left. The Sycamores would claw their way to within two of USI, 53-51.
 
The Eagles would start to re-establish command with a six-point lead, 57-51, at 11:20 after sophomore forward Stephen Olowoniyi put together a pair of buckets, including a steal and thunderous dunk with 11:43 on the clock.
 
Following junior guard Sam Kodi's layup to put USI back up by 10 points, 68-58, ISU would close the gap once again until the Eagles put together a 6-0 run to restore the lead to double-digits, 77-67, with 2:38 to play on a three-pointer by junior guard Jack Campion. The lead would reach 14, 84-70, when graduate forward Jack Mielke hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:27 left and a pair of free throws 14 seconds later at 1:13.
 
USI would finish the game at the stripe, converting three of four attempts to close out the 87-77 victory.
 
The Eagles, as a team, shot 49.2 percent from the field (30-61), including a blistering 52.4 percent from downtown (11-21). USI also had 14 steals and forced 20 ISU turnovers.
 
Individually, Olowoniyi led four players in double-digits with 16 points. The sophomore forward was eight-of-12 from the field and was one of three Eagles with eight rebounds.
 
Randall followed Olowoniyi in the scoring column with 15 points, while Mielke dropped in 14 and grabbed eight boards. Harrison rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and was third with eight rebounds.
 
Junior guard Jack Campion was perfect at point guard, dishing nine assists and did not have a turnover for the second game in a row. The junior also has 210 career assists, 18 away from reaching the top-15 all-time at USI.
 
Next Up For USI:
USI concludes the three-game homestand December 2 when it hosts East-West University at Liberty Arena at 7 p.m. The game is "Wear Red for Riley," and fans are encouraged to wear red to support Riley's Children's Hospital in Indiana.   
 
The Phantoms of East-West, which play in the USCAA, are 2-7 overall in 2024-25 and are slated to play Olivet Nazarene University November 26 before visiting USI.
 
USI leads the all-time series, 1-0, after posting a 107-49 last season. Javius_Moore and graduate forward Jack Mielke led USI in scoring during the win with 16 points and 15 points, respectively.