MONDAY'S SCORES
Southern Indiana 87, IUPUI 74 (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
@UT Martin 120, Crowley's Ridge 59
SOUTHERN INDIANA 87, IUPUI 74
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) drained a record-tying 10 three-pointers to lead the Screaming Eagles to an 87-74 victory over Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis on day one of the Indiana Classic Monday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The Eagles are 7-5 after today's action, while the Jaguars are 2-10. The Indiana Classic is being hosted by Purdue University Ft. Wayne.
Lakes' 10 three-point field goals tied former USI All-American Jamar Smith, who sank 10 three-pointers against Maryville University January 9, 2010, and four other Ohio Valley Conference alumni (Marc Polite, Eastern Illinois University vs. Arkansas State, 1999-2000; Glenn Cosey, Eastern Kentucky Univeristy vs. EIU, 2013-14; Nick Smith, Belmont vs. University of Tennessee Martin, 2016-17; Corey Tillery, Tennessee Tech University vs. Warren Wilson College, 2018-19) The graduate forward, who posted a career-high 30 points, was a blistering 10-of-16 from beyond the arc and 10-for-20 overall in the game.
The first half was all Lakes, who propelled the Eagles to a 16-point first half lead, 47-31. Lakes hit three-straight three-point bombs to start the game and the early 9-2 lead. The graduate forward would go on to hit six-of-eight from beyond the arc for 18 first half points.
USI was a blistering nine-of-14 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes with sophomore forward Jack Mielke (Downers Grove, Illinois) following Lakes to post a pair of three-pointers, while senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) added a three.
The Eagles led by as many as 20 points, 42-22, in the opening half before settling for the 16-point margin at the break.
USI continued to pound the Jaguars in the second half, hitting another eight-of-14 from downtown. The Eagles finished the contest 17-of-28 from beyond the arc, surpassing the season-high of 15 in the 2022-23 opening game at the University of Missouri.
The Jaguars briefly pulled to within 12 points, 55-43, with 15:07 to play before the Eagles turned on the afterburners again and would go on to lead by as many as 21 points, 84-63, with three minutes to play. IUPUI outscored USI, 11-3 in the final minutes as the Eagles settled for the 87-74 win.
In addition to Lakes' 30 points, four more Eagles registered in double-digits on the scoreboard.
Senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) followed Lakes with 15 points and a career-best/game-high 20 rebounds. Polakovich was five-of-nine from the field and a perfect five-of-five from the field, while grabbing 10 offensive and 10 defensive boards. The 20 rebounds was one better than the 19 rebounds Polakovich grabbed twice last season.
Mielke finished the game with career-high 13 points on four-of-seven from the field, three-of-six from long range. Junior guard Tyler Henry (Brooklyn, New York) and Simmons rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.
USI sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) dished a season-high eight assists in the victory.
UT MARTIN 120, CROWLEY'S RIDGE 59
MARTIN, Tenn. - Parker Stewart pumped in a game-high 26 points behind a career-best eight 3-pointers as the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team passed its final nonconference test with flying colors, claiming a 120-59 win against Crowley’s Ridge.
With the victory, the Skyhawks (8-5) tie their season win total from 2021-22 and also equal the 2002-03 and 2001-02 UT Martin teams for most consecutive home victories (seven) to start a season. The Skyhawks have now won four straight decisions for the first time since Feb. 7-16, 2019.
Stewart’s 26 points came on 9-of-12 shooting, including an 8-of-11 performance from three-point land. He was joined in double figures scoring by Jalen Myers (18 points, career-high eight rebounds), KJ Simon (16 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals), Jordan Sears (14 points, game-high five assists, four rebounds, two steals) and Desmond Williams (11 points, season-best four assists).
KK Curry secured a game-high 10 rebounds while Koby Jeffries posted a stat line of eight points, a career-high seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks as UT Martin shot 54.4 percent (43-of-79) from the field. The Skyhawks led for 39:08 of clock time, boasted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 26:6, splashed 15 three-pointers and held a 37-2 advantage in fast break points.
The Pioneers (3-10) were led by Bo Roberson’s 17 points while JD Smith added 11 points for the NAIA program located in Paragould, Ark.
Stewart canned a three-pointer on the Skyhawks’ opening possession of the game before Sears scored six points as part of an 8-0 UT Martin run, making the score 12-2 less than four minutes into the contest.
Stewart accounted for three more treys over a stretch of 1:46 before three-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor from Williams pushed the Skyhawk advantage out to 29-13. Sears soon added trifectas on consecutive possessions before a 20-0 UT Martin run. The extended surge lasted 3:48 and featured contributions from Simon (six points), Stewart (six), Myers (four), Curry (two) and Chris Nix (two).
Jeffries wrapped up the first half with a pair of driving fingerroll layups at the rim to make the score 63-33 at the break. The 63 points marked the most in a first half since the Skyhawks put up 63 points against UC Clermont on Dec. 10, 2017 – a span of 148 games.
At the half, Stewart had 18 points on a scorching 6-of-7 effort from three-point range. Sears also had 14 points in the opening 20 minutes while Roberson’s 10 points paced Crowley’s Ridge.
The Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference duo of Simon (eight) and Stewart (five) combined for UT Martin’s first 13 points of the second half.
Myers started getting hot shortly thereafter as the sophomore forward out of Madison, Ala. was responsible for eight of the Skyhawks’ 11 points during one stretch – capped off with back-to-back old-fashioned three-point plays.
A fast break dunk by Rifen Miguel with 6:27 remaining made the score 100-55 as UT Martin zoomed into triple digits on the scoreboard for the third time this season. The Skyhawks soon pieced together 14 unanswered points, including three-pointers from Dylan Pumpian on back-to-back trips down the floor with under three minutes remaining. A dunk by Endicott with 24 seconds left tied for the largest lead of the evening and provided the final margin of 120-59.