USI Basketball

Saturday was an exciting day for the USI Screaming Eagles. Not only did the school crown a homecoming king and queen, but they also defeated a ranked University of Missouri-Saint Louis team in the final seconds. It was a very intense game for the 3,000 people in attendance at Screaming Eagles Arena.

USI came out strong and showed their power in the first half. At the 17-minute mark, the Eagles went on a 12-3 run that was led by forward Emmanuel Little and guard Kobe Caldwell. With a little over 2 minutes left, they had a comfortable 30-18 lead. Heading into halftime, Eagles were leading the Tritons with a score of 34-24.

The second half was not nearly as one-sided in favor of the Eagles as the first. The Tritons came out hot with an 11-2 run that gave them the 44-43 lead with less than 14 minutes to play. They quickly extended this lead to 10 points and were up 62-52 with only 5 minutes left in the game. But, this game wasn’t over in the eyes of the Eagles.

Emmanuel Little went on a 9-point burst to begin a 15-4 run to tie the game 66-66 with less than one minute left on the clock. The Eagles held the Tritons scoreless and got the rebound with 33 seconds left. Junior, Mateo Rivera, charged to the basket and got fouled with four seconds remaining. Rivera missed the first free throw but drained the second one. The Eagles were able to hold the Tritons scoreless in the final seconds. Eagles win. Free throws matter.

Being led by Emmanuel Little with 21 points, Mateo Rivers with 15 points, and Kobe Caldwell with 11 points, the Eagles were able to pull off a great upset that put them at 19-5 for the season and 11-5 in the GLVC.

The Eagles have four GLVC matchups remaining and are currently tied for third in the conference and play at Screaming Eagles Arena on Saturday against another GLVC opponent, the Lewis Flyers.