THURSDAY'S SCORES
UIW 87,
Southern Indiana 81 (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
@Indiana 73,
Lindenwood 53
@#17 Tennessee 89, T
ennessee State 60
UIW 87, SOUTHERN INDIANA 81
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.- University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball's offense cooled in the second half and fell to the University of the Incarnate Word, 87-81, in the first round of the Boardwalk Battle at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Screaming Eagles go to 1-4 in the non-conference schedule, while UIW is 3-2.
Despite being on fire through the first 20 minutes, USI led only once in the first half (2-1 on a basket by senior guard Ismail Habib) and trailed by three at the break, 41-38. The Eagles shot 57.7 percent from the field (15-26), 55.6 percent from beyond the arc (5-9), and 75 percent from the stripe (3-4).
USI trailed by as many as nine points (29-20) once in the first half but battled back with a 10-4 run in the final two minutes before halftime to trail by three. Senior guard Cardell Bailey led USI's comeback with 13 points off the bench, including a trio of field goals beyond the three-point arc.
UIW took command in the second half with a 20-8 run in the first seven minutes to lead 61-46 with 13:14 to play. USI also would go without a field goal for seven minutes (15:25 to 8:17), managing only seven free throws to trail 67-53.
After falling behind by as many as 16 points twice, the Eagles tried to rally in the final eight minutes. USI used a 22-13 run to pull to within five points, 80-75, with 36 seconds left on the clock after Bailey converted an old-fashioned three-point play. Senior forward Ola Ajiboye led the USI run with nine of the 22 points, while Habib and Bailey added six points and five points, respectively.
The Cardinals stopped the Eagles' offensive push by connecting on seven-of-eight trips to the free throw line in the final 36 seconds to close out the 87-81 final.
In the second half, USI fell below 50 percent from the field by shooting 42.9 percent (15-35) and was 0-of-12 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes. The Eagles also lost the battle on the boards, 38-27, for the contest.
For the game, Habib reached 21 points for the second-straight game to lead the USI scorers. He was eight-of-15 from the field, including a three-pointer, and a perfect four-of-four from the stripe.
Bailey and Ajiboye posted season highs with 18 points each. Bailey finished seven-of-12 from the field, three-of-seven from beyond the arc, and one-of-two from the stripe. Ajiboye was six-of-eight from the field and six-of-nine from the charity stripe.
INDIANA 73, LINDENWOOD 53
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Lindenwood men's basketball team (2-4) fell to the Indiana Hoosiers (5-0) of the Big 10 on Thursday night from Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
Both offenses struggled to find a rhythm early as Lindenwood trailed 12-4 nine minutes into the contest. Coming out of the timeout, Lindenwood cut the deficit to 13-11 after a Robert Lewis jumper. However, the Hoosiers responded with a 14-0 run to gain some separation. The Lions trailed 34-18 at the break. Lewis led the way with four points for the Lions.
Lindenwood opened the second half on a 10-0 run, capped off by a Milos Nenedic dunk, which forced an Indiana timeout. Once again, Indiana answered with a 14-3 run of its own to go up 48-31 at the under 12. The Hoosiers continued to grow their lead going up 59-36 with just under 10 minutes to go in the game. The Lions were unable to close the gap during the final stretch of the game, falling 73-53.
Anias Futrell led all Lindenwood scorers with 12 points, including eight in the second half with the help of a few makes behind the arc. Jadis Jones also had eight points in the second half and finished the game with 10.
#17 TENNESSEE 89, TENNESSEE STATE 60
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Aaron Nkrumah and Travis Harper II combined to score 36 total points, but the Tigers fell to the Tennessee Volunteers 89-60 on the road Thursday.
Nkrumah led the Tigers (2-3) with 19 points, five assists and three steals. Harper II added 17 points and two steals and Antoine Lorick III helped out with 12 points from the bench.
Led by Jean Yvens Lafleur's two offensive rebounds, Tennessee State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 12 boards that resulted in seven second chance points.
The Tennessee State defense was a problem in Thursday's game, forcing 17 Tennessee turnovers. Those takeaways turned into 11 points on the other end of the floor. Nkrumah's three steals led the way individually for the Tigers.
Tennessee State struggled out of the gate, falling behind 43-21 heading into halftime.
Tennessee kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 76-42 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 9-0 run to shrink the deficit to 76-51 with 5:44 to go in the contest. Tennessee responded and outscored the Tigers the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 89-60. Tennessee State got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 11 of its 39 total points.