EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball snapped its losing streak with an 82-68 Senior Night win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Saturday evening at Liberty Arena. The Screaming Eagles are 10-18 overall and 5-13 in OVC action, while the Cougars go to 19-10, 12-6 OVC.
 
USI started Senior Night off on the right foot with a quick 7-2 lead before two minutes were gone. The Eagles would hang onto the lead for 10 more minutes when the Cougars grabbed a brief 26-25 advantage before USI jumped back in front 28-26 on a three by junior guard Braxton Jones with 7:36 left in the half.
 
The USI lead would grow back to five points, 33-28, with just under seven minutes to play on an old-fashioned three-point play by sophomore forward Stephen Olowoniyi. The lead expanded to double-digits, 42-31, on back-to-back buckets in the paint by junior center Alex Horiuk and a three-pointer by junior guard Ryan Hall that forced an SIUE timeout.
 
USI junior guard Jack Campion sent the Eagles into the locker with the first-half's largest of 13-point lead, 46-33. Hall had a team-high and season-high 11 points during the first 20 minutes.
 
In the second half, USI briefly took the lead to 15 points, 50-35, before SIUE used a 7-2 surge to close the gap to nine points, 52-43, with 14:40 remaining in the game. Junior forward Jadyn Shider took the lead back to 11 points with a bucket, while junior guard Jayland Randall pushed the lead back to 12 points, 59-47, on a three-pointer from the right corner.
 
SIUE closed the gap to seven points, 59-52, with 9:37 to play in the contest and to five points, 60-55, with 8:34 remaining. USI took back the momentum with an 8-2 run, pushing the lead back to double-digits, 68-57, with 6:00 on the clock.
 
After the Eagles and the Cougars traded buckets for two minutes, graduate forward Jack Mielke hit a big three-pointer with 3:04 remaining to keep the Eagles in front by 11 points, 73-62. The three-pointer ignited a 7-0 run for a 77-63 advantage and put the Eagles back in command for good. USI finished out the game on a 12-6 run for an 82-68 victory.
 
On the scoreboard, USI had five players in double-digits and was led by the 20-point performance by Randall. He was five-of-11 from the field, including a three-pointer, and nine-of-10 from the line.
 
Mielke and Jones followed with 12 points each, while Hall and Campion rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points and 10 points, respectively. The 11 points was a season high for Hall.
 
In addition to his 12 points, Mielke also grabbed a team-high and career-high 13 rebounds. The double-double was the second of Mielke's career at USI.
 
With a Senior Night pre-game ceremony, USI honored its three seniors – graduate guard Sam Mervis, graduate forward Nick Hittle, and Mielke – and their families.  
 
Next Up For USI:
The Eagles conclude the 2024-25 season on the road next week with visits to the University of Tennessee at Martin and Tennessee State University. Tipoff Thursday at UT Martin is 7:30 p.m., while the start time at TSU is 3:30 p.m.
 
UTM is 12-17 overall and 4-13 in the OVC after losing to TSU, 86-75, and Tennessee Tech University, 71-66 in overtime last week. The Skyhawks have lost seven of their last 10.
 
UTM leads the all-time series with USI, 7-4, after winning big at Liberty Arena in December, 77-46. USI was led by Randall, who posted 12 points in the loss.  
 
TSU is 14-15 overall and 10-8 in the OVC after dropping a 77-74 decision to TTU this afternoon. The Tigers are 8-3 in the last 11 games after this weekend.
 
USI leads the series with TSU, 6-4, after defeating the Tigers, 77-75, at Liberty Arena in December. The Eagles were led in the first meeting by junior guard Damoni Harrison, who had 19 points. Owlowoniyi and Randall followed with 18 points and 15 points, respectively.