THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Southern Indiana 84, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 42
SOUTHERN INDIANA 84, SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS 42
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball rolled through Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, 84-42, Thursday evening at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles rise above .500 for the first time as a Division I team and are 6-5 after tonight's action, while the Pomeroys are 4-7.
The Eagles and Pomeroys started slow with each team posting a bucket through the first four minutes. USI ignited after the first media timeout with senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) sparking a 14-1 run to put the Eagles up 16-3.
Polakovich had six of the 14 points during the run as the Eagles were five-of-eight from the field offensively and held the Pomeroys to just two shots in three minutes. The USI defense would go on to hold SMWC to under 10 points through the first 12 minutes of the contest.
After graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) broke a three-minute scoring drought with a three-point bomb from the top of the key, USI went on an 11-2 run to post a 22-point, 34-12 lead. The Eagles were a perfect four-of-four from the the field during the run, led by sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana), who had five of the 11 points.
USI finished the opening 20 minutes by increasing the lead to as many as 24 points twice, including the 38-14 score at the intermission.
The Eagles pulled away for gook early in the second, expanding the lead to more than 30 points through the first 10 minutes. Senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) scored 13 of his 18 points during the first 10 minutes of the final half as USI outscored SMWC, 27-15.
The USI lead would grow to as many as 44 points before the final buzzer on the 84-42 victory.
In addition to Simmons' team-high 18 points, sophomore guard Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) and Polakovich followed with double-digits in the scoring column with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.
USI, as a team, won the battle on the boards, 40-36, led by sophomore forward Nick Hittle (Indianapolis, Indiana), who grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds.