Simmons, Solomon lead Eagles to Division I road win
University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) and junior guard Gary Solomon (Detroit, Michigan) combined for 44 points to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 69-57 victory at Bowling Green State University Saturday afternoon at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Screaming Eagles, who posted their first Division I road win, are 3-3 after tonight's action, while the Falcons fall to 2-4.
Simmons posted a team-high 23 points on nine-of-16 from the field, four-of-nine from beyond the arc, and one-of-two from the stripe. Solomon, who scored USI's first eight points of the second half, posted his 21 points on eight-of-14 from the field, including a three-point bomb, and four-of-four from the stripe.
Bowling Green had control early, building a six-point lead, 14-8, after six minutes were gone in the game. USI proceeded to go on a 14-7 run to get its first lead of the game, 22-21, at the 8:36 mark of the first half.
The Eagles and the Falcons would trade buckets and leads until a 9-3 run gave USI a 37-31 advantage. Bowling Green got the final three points on free throws as USI took a 37-34 margin into the break. There were eight lead changes and four ties during the first 20 minutes.
The final 20 minutes saw Solomon and the Eagles take command of the contest in first three minutes. Solomon scored all eight points of an 8-2 run to give USI a 45-36 lead. The lead quick expanded to double-digits, 48-38, when Simmons hit for a three-pointer with 16:53 to play.
USI continued to build on the lead, expanding it to as many as 14 points, 69-55, with 1:53 to play before the Falcons got the final bucket for the 69-57 Eagles' victory.
As a team, the Eagles forced 16 Falcon turnovers, making 11 steals, and blocked five shots. USI and Bowling Green were tied, 39-39, in the rebounding battle.
Next Up 2022-23:
USI starts the second half of a four-game road swing Wednesday when they visit Western Illinois University for a 7 p.m. contest in Macomb, Illinois. The Leathernecks are 2-4 after falling to Youngstown State University, 88-64, at home this afternoon in the Western Hall.
The Leathernecks were led by guard Alec Rosner, who had 16 points in the loss.
USI trails in the all-time series with Western Illinois, 2-1, and this will be the first meeting since 1981 when the Leathernecks defeated the Eagles in the first round of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional in Macomb, 80-73. The first meeting was won by Western Illinois, 82-76, in Macomb during the 1976-77 campaign, while USI took the second game at the Evansville Central Arena, 82-65, that same season.
The final game of the four-game road swing takes the Eagles to Chicago, Illinois, to visit Chicago State University, December 4. USI returns the friendly surroundings of Screaming Eagles Arena December 7 to play Anderson University (Indiana) and December 11 versus Indiana State University.
Original source can be found here.
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