NASHVILLE, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball lost a seesaw battle with Tennessee State, 73-67, at Gentry Center Saturday afternoon in Nashville, Tennessee. The Screaming Eagles go to 4-14 overall and 1-7 in the OVC, while the Tigers are 12-6, 6-2 OVC.
USI had a hard time prying the lid off the bucket in the first 11 minutes of the game, hitting only six of its first 18 shots and missing its first seven three-point attempts, and found itself in an 11-point hole, 25-14. The Eagles rallied to close the gap to one point, 34-33, before halftime with a 19-9 surge and capped off with an old fashion three-point play by junior forward
Tolu Samuels.
USI junior guard/forward
Amaree Brown led the Eagles' charge with 10 points during the run and 12 points for the half. He was five-of-eight from the field after coming off the bench.
The Tigers bounced back to get the final four points of the half to lead 38-33. USI picked up the offense in the final 10 minutes of the first half, hitting seven-of-12 from the field (58.3 percent) and three-of-six from beyond the arc (50 percent).
After TSU pushed its lead back to nine points, 42-33, to start the second half, USI exploded on a 13-2 rally to take its first lead of the game, 46-44, when senior guard
Ismail Habib hit a three-point bomb from the left corner. Senior guard
Cardell Bailey led the USI charge with eight of the 13 points as the Eagles hit five-of-nine from the field and three-of-seven from long range as a team to take the lead.
The USI lead would grow to six points, 51-45, before TSU would get its offense back in gear. The Tigers would run off eight-straight points to re-take the lead 53-51 before Brown knotted the game once again, 53-53, and gave USI back the lead 59-53 on back-to-back long-range bombs with 7:46 left.
TSU, however, was not ready to let USI take control, as it rallied back with a 17-2 run to regain the advantage, 70-61. Bailey snapped USI's six-minute field goal drought with a three-pointer to pull the Eagles to within six, 70-64, with 1:50 to play and kept them with six with a second bomb, 73-67, with 28 ticks left.
The Eagles would not get another chance in the final seconds as the Tigers closed out the 73-67 final.
The Eagles had three reach double-digits in the scoring column, led by the 20-point game of Brown. Brown, who scored 20 for the first time as an Eagle, was eight-of-14 from the field and four-of-seven from beyond the arc.
Bailey followed Brown with 19 points and posted his second double-double of the year with a team-best 10 rebounds. The senior guard was seven-of-21 from the field and a blistering five-of-seven from long range.
Habib rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. He was five-of-15 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers.
Next Up For USI:
USI comes home next week to start a four-game homestand at Liberty Arena, beginning with Eastern Illinois Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The homestand also includes Western Illinois January 24 at 3:30 p.m.; Lindenwood January 29 at 7:30 p.m.; and SIU Edwardsville for Homecoming January 31 at 7:30 p.m.
Eastern Illinois is 7-11 overall and 4-4 in the OVC after falling to Little Rock Thursday, 74-63. The Panthers are slated to play Blackburn Sunday at 2 p.m., a contest that was postponed in December.
The all-time series between USI and EIU is tied, 4-4, after the teams split last season with each winning on the other's home court.
The USI-EIU matchup will be a white-out game with the first 500 USI students receiving t-shirts.
Western Illinois finds itself still looking for an OVC win this season following an 86-79 loss at Little Rock Saturday in Arkansas. The Leathernecks, who are 4-15 overall and 0-8 in the OVC, are slated to play at Morehead State Thursday before visiting USI.
USI trails the all-time series with WIU, 6-2, after the squads split the series last season. The Screaming Eagles took the opening game at Liberty Arena, 78-66, but lost the meeting in Macomb, Illinois, 87-62.
The USI-WIU game is the annual Hoops for Troops Military Appreciation Game.
