he University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team saw the rest of the season Thursday night, and it’s not going to be pretty.
“I’m walking back after shaking (Missouri-St. Louis coach) Steve Tappmeyer’s hand and I’m thinking, ‘We’ve got 17 more of these!'” said Screaming Eagles coach Rodney Watson.
He was more than grateful 17th-ranked USI came away with a 66-54 victory over the Tritons at the more than aptly named Physical Activities Center. The Eagles’ players were even more grateful.
MOLLY BARTELS / COURIER & PRESS USI’s Kenyon Smith looks to shoot around UMSL’s, Darian Cartharn, in the second half of a game in the Physical Activities Center at USI in Evansville Thursday.
MOLLY BARTELS / COURIER & PRESS USI’s Keith DeWitt tries to block a shot by UMSL’s, Joshua McCoy, in the second half of a game in the Physical Activities Center at USI in Evansville Thursday.
MOLLY BARTELS / COURIER & PRESS USI’s Taylor Wischmeier keeps the ball away from University of Missouri-St. Louis defender, Joshua McCoy, in the second half of a game in the Physical Activities Center at USI in Evansville Thursday.
“Welcome to the conference,” said junior forward Taylor Wischmeier with a grin after finishing with 12 points and a team-high 13 rebounds — nine of them off the offensive glass. “It doesn’t get any easier from here on out.”
USI held UMSL to 32.8 percent shooting, limiting the Tritons to just 20 field goals despite their taking 61 shots. Also, the Eagles held UMSL’s leading scorer, Joshua McCoy — who came into the game averaging 18.3 points — to 1-for-6 shooting and six points before he fouled out with 3:49 left in the contest.
Watson said McCoy appeared to be ill, pointing out that he vomited into a trash can just off the court early in the first half. Still, the coach liked what he saw out of his team’s defense.
“That was the best we’ve communicated on defense all year long,” said Watson. “The guards especially really talked and communicated.”
Meanwhile, the Eagles had to scrap for every rebound they could get, having given up 11 offensive rebounds in the first half alone. Still, they ended up owning the boards, outrebounding UMSL 45-37 for the game.
USI finally took control in the second half.
After a first half in which Orlando Rutledge’s two successful free throws with 30.5 seconds left gave USI a 33-31 halftime lead, the Eagles broke a 33-33 tie at 17:34 on a Kenyon Smith 3-pointer — only his second 3-point basket of the season. That began a 7-2 USI run that concluded with Rutledge’s lone 3-pointer of the game.
Then, for more than four minutes, neither team scored. Both squads kept missing shots and turning the ball over until Keith DeWitt banked in a layup off a Lawrence Thomas pass at 11:15 of the second half.
“I remember thinking, ‘Damn,
we’ve been stuck on this one for a while,'” said Wischmeier.
“That was a key part of the game,” said Watson. “We had to keep going.”
The game went back and forth until DeWitt fed Austin Davis underneath for a thunderous dunk. Suddenly, USI led 46-39 with 9:21 remaining.
Two Davis free throws 30 seconds later put the Eagles ahead 48-39, and their lead never dropped to less than six points the rest of the contest.
USI (8-1, 1-0 GLVC) won despite shooting just 42.4 percent (25-for-59) from the field and giving up 16 offensive rebounds to the Tritons (7-3, 0-2).
“We had a distinct advantage inside on offense,” said Watson. “We also had a distinct advantage inside on defense. I think they ended up having a few guys take shots they don’t normally take.”
Rutledge wound up leading USI with 14 points. In addition to Wischmeier’s 12, Davis added 11 points, and Aaron Nelson grabbed 11 rebounds.
Charlie Woods led UMSL with 13 points.
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