Drury's 14th-ranked Panthers will resume one of their top rivalries in the Great Lakes Valley Conference when No. 2 and unbeaten Southern Indiana visits Weiser Gym for an 8 p.m. tipoff on Tuesday.
The Screaming Eagles of first-year coach Rodney Watson are 21-0 overall and 12-0 in the GLVC this season, though they are ineligible for both the GLVC and NCAA-II tournaments as self-imposed penalties for rules violations. USI is coming off a pair of home wins over UMSL (59-44) and Rockhurst (78-71).
Senior guard Jamar Smith had 24 points to lead USI past Rockhurst and paces both the Screaming Eagles and the GLVC in scoring with his 22.1 points per game. Tyrone Bradshaw, a 6-8 senior, added 18 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in the win over the Hawks and averages 12.9 points and 5.7 rebounds. Mohamed Ntumba, a 6-7, 230-pound junior, leads USI in rebounding at 5.8 per game.
The Screaming Eagles pace the GLVC in scoring at 89.4 points per game, just ahead of No. 2 Drury at 84.4 points, and also leads the league in fewest points allowed (62.6 per game), helped by their league-best .401 FG percentage defense. Smith has shot 200 3-pointers to date and leads the nation with his average of 4.33 made treys per game.
USI leads the all-time series with the Panthers 5-4, including a sweep of their games last season, winning 84-71 in Evansville and 76-69 at Weiser.
The Panthers improved to 18-4 overall and 11-2 in the GLVC with an 84-73 victory at Indianapolis on Saturday, bouncing back from Thursday's 65-61 setback at Northern Kentucky.
Chase Elliott had 17 points to lead five Panthers in double-figures at Indy, where freshman Cable Hogue added 14 points and a team-high six rebounds in his second career start. Drury played without leading scorer and freshman guard Alex Hall (one-game GLVC suspension) and sophomore standout Dominique Long (attending a funeral).
Freshman point guard Brandon Lockhart continued his fine play of late with seven points, seven assists and four steals against the Greyhounds. Lockhart leads the GLVC in steals per game at 2.05.
Tuesday's game can be heard live on JOCK 98.7 FM (
www.jock987.com), and will also feature a live video webcast, for $7, available at www.B2TV.com.
Game Notes