EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A career-high 24 points from
Cory Miller Jr. put an exclamation point on Saturday, as the No. 15 UIndy men's basketball team (23-5, 15-5 GLVC) capped the regular season schedule with an 88-76 win at 24th-ranked Southern Indiana (21-7, 13-7 GLVC).
The Ursa, Ill., product shot nine of 12 from the field in 26 minutes of action, as senior
Jimmy King nearly recorded his second straight double-double with 15 points and nine assists.
Prior to the game, the Southern Indiana athletics department recognized its 1994-95 men's basketball team for its national championship 25 years ago. UIndy head coach
Stan Gouard earned NABC DII Player of the Year accolades for the second straight year.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Greyhounds' top-ranked conference offense stayed true on Saturday, scoring a whopping 52 points in the first half against the Screaming Eagles. A 3-pointer from
Trevor Lakes began the 10-7 run to close out the half to build a 17-point cushion before the break.
USI quickly scored seven points in 93 seconds to get back within 10, but UIndy did not fret and maintained its way back to a game-high 23-point lead with a bucket from
Kendrick Tchoua at the 9:11 mark.
After the Screaming Eagles cut their deficit down to single digits, Miller Jr. ended all hope with a driving slam through traffic with two minutes left. With the win, UIndy finishes the regular season sweep over USI for the first time since 2012.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- After just scoring a then-season-best 23 points on Thursday against McKendree, Miller Jr. added 24 against USI. The junior's 12 field goal attempts is tied for the third-most tries this season.
- Now with 181 assists this season, King is one off his 2018-19 total and fifth all-time in program history. The Indianapolis native currently has 530 career helpers and is 17 away from matching Ron Rutland's program-leading record.
- Lakes attempted 15 tries from 3-point range, hitting six for the third time this season. His single-game high is seven triples, coming at Cedarville (Nov. 23) and at Maryville (Feb. 20).
- UIndy has now recorded 10 or less turnovers on 11 occasions this season, and has dished out more assists than giveaways in all but four games.
-
Jacob Polakovich added eight points and nine rebounds in the win.
MORE NOTES
Along with the season sweep, it is the first UIndy wins at USI since Jan. 19, 2012 … Emmanuel Little poured in a game-high 31 points for the Screaming Eagles … UIndy's Gouard is now 9-11 against his former team ... the Greyhounds have now 12 of their last 13 games to end the regular season.
HOUND BYTES
Head coach Stan Gouard
"What a blessing. There's a lot of emotions going on right now, with my old teammates back."
On the regular season…
"Twenty-three wins in the regular season – in this league – is not easy. What a great group of guys we have. The guys who don't play are the biggest cheerleaders; they don't care about who's successful if we're all successful. The guys who didn't get one minute are so happy for those who contributed on the floor."
On what led to a fast start…
"We did a good job early on holding them to one shot. We've been working to be fast on the offensive end and that has brought energy to our defense."
On the scout team…
"Dee, Miles, Frank, Jaylin, Jesse…all of them. We probably have the best scout team in our league. They give us fits in practice. They bring it every single day. It's truly a joy to be around."
On the team's culture…
"Our guys were on a mission coming into this season. A lot of credit goes to Jimmy, Jordache and Trevor about making it more than just basketball. It's a brotherhood."
UP NEXT
The league will announce later tonight the seeds and bracket for the upcoming GLVC Championship Tournament. Both the men's and women's tournament will be played at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville at the Vadalabene Center from March 5-8.
