EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball was shut down by Lindenwood University, 73-60, Thursday evening at Liberty Arena. The Screaming Eagles go to 5-16 overall and 2-9 in the OVC, while the Lions are 13-9, 7-4 OVC.
USI and Lindenwood traded the lead nine times and were tied twice in the first 10 minutes before the Lions pushed out to a five-point lead, 21-16, with 7:50 before halftime. The Eagles began a 5-0 run to tie the game at 21-21 with 6:21 remaining in the first half on a bucket by senior forward
Ola Ajiboye and an old-fashioned three-point play by junior guard
Sheridan Sharp.
The Lion broke the third tie of the contest with an 11-0 run to post a 32-21 lead with 2:52 on the clock. USI would rally with six straight points to cut the deficit to 32-27 before Lindenwood closed out the half with four points and a 36-27 lead.
USI junior guard/forward
Amaree Brown reached double-digits before the intermission to lead the Eagles with 11 points.
The second half began with Lindenwood extending its first half lead to 12 points, 41-29, in the first 90 seconds. USI cut the gap to six points (45-39), but Lindenwood, however, pushed the margin back to 11 points, 53-42, with 12:10 to play. USI would go on to trail by as many as 20 points before Lindenwood closed out the 73-60 final.
In the scoring column, Brown would finish the contest with 22 points, while senior guard
Cardell Bailey concluded the game with 10 points.
Next Up For USI:
USI concludes the four-game homestand with its 2026 Homecoming game against SIU Edwardsville Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
SIUE is 13-9 overall and 6-5 OVC after falling 67-65 at Morehead State Thursday night. The Cougars had won their last three before tonight's loss.
USI leads the all-time series with SIUE, 46-26 overall and a 24-8 in conference games (GLVC & OVC). SIUE has won five of the last eight since USI moved into the OVC in 2022-23.
The Cougars won the first meeting of the season on New Year's Day, 59-55, in Edwardsville, Illinois.
