November 11, 2008
USI starts 19-game home schedule Saturday
Largest home schedule in the history of the program
USI GAME NOTES
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team tips off the largest home schedule in the history of the program – 19 games – Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts Urbana University.
Saturday's match-up with Urbana also starts a six-game homestand for USI that also includes the Bill Joergens Memorial Tournament November 28-29.
The Screaming Eagles (1-2) are coming off a tough road trip to the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic to begin the year. USI opened the year with a 99-95 overtime victory against Saint Martin's University. The tournament-opening win marked the 23rd straight year that USI has begun the season with a victory.
The Eagles struggled after the season-opening win, falling 68-60 to eighth-ranked Minnesota State University and 56-54 on a last second shot to third-ranked Bentley University.
USI was led by senior forward Anthony Pimble (Bronx, New York), who was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 11.0 points per game. The Eagles also were led by senior guard Marvin Gray (Bahamas), who had 15 assists in the three games, and junior forward Tyrone Bradshaw (Cincinnati, Ohio), who had 13 blocks during the tournament.
The Blue Knights of Urbana begin their 2008-09 campaign at the PAC this weekend. Urbana, which is a Division II independent program, returns two starters from a squad that was 5-23 in 2007-08. Senior guard David Brown leads the returning Knights with 9.4 points per game a year ago.
The USI-Urbana match-up on Saturday is the first meeting between the two schools in any sport.
The Eagles follow up their showdown with the Blue Knights by hosting Harris-Stowe State University November 18 at 7:30 p.m. The Hornets, which were 13-19 last year, started the season last weekend with a 76-61 loss to William Jewell College and will play Missouri Valley College and Lincoln University prior to visiting the PAC.
USI leads the all-time series with HSSU, 2-0, after posting a 117-78 win in 2006-07 and an 87-62 victory last year.
Ray Simmons, USI Sports Information
