The USI Men’s Basketball team returned to the Liberty Arena Thursday night for their first home game of the new year, following a rough run of form losing five games in a row. This string of games was the loss to the University of Tennessee-Martin, by 31 points, where it seemed as if there was a lid on the basket. Close losses to Morehead State and Tennessee Tech followed this brutal loss. The final road game was a double-digit loss to a tough Southeast Missouri State team. Despite a semi-strong start to the season, the team had fallen into a hole to open conference play.
Sitting at a record of 7-10 overall, (1-5 in conference play) USI needed a victory to grasp some momentum early on and more importantly, avoid losing a sixth game in a row. The opponent, Lindenwood, sat at a record of 8-9 overall, (3-3 in conference play) a tough, but certainly winnable game, especially at home.
Going into the matchup, Lindenwood would likely start a small ball lineup featuring four guards and one lone big man to anchor the paint. This lineup seemingly played into USI’s hands, as Head Coach Stan Gouard matches the lineup with Sam Kodi, junior guard; Rayland Randall, junior guard; Damoni Harrison, junior guard; Jack Mielke, graduate forward; and Stephen Olowoniyi, sophomore forward. This lineup mixes a lineup of a traditional ball-handling point guard, with three guys who can easily spread the floor and get to the basket, along with Olowoniyi, a versatile player who can anchor the paint and run in transition.

To begin the game, USI opened the game in a zone defense, to keep the other team’s shooters in reach and to force the other team to think. However, their defense wasn’t even the most impressive part, because the team came out hot scoring 12 unanswered points to start the game, six of those from Harrison. Following a basket by Anias Futrell, junior guard for Lindenwood, the game hit a break for a media timeout with 15:45 to go.
This break in play is likely what the Lions needed, as they settled down and hit shots. Reggie Bass, junior guard and Futrell hit a three-pointer in just over one minute. Soon a 9-0 run became a 12-0 run and USI’s lead had disappeared, as Lindenwood grabbed the momentum. With six minutes to go, Lindenwood grew the lead to ten as Bass got going. To make matters worse, USI’s Olowoniyi picked up two fouls early and had to be subbed out, which created issues for the Screaming Eagles’ defense.
This change in energy prompted coach Gouard to make some major adjustments, inserting freshman guard Josiah Dunham into the lineup, along with an unexpected sub of Sam Mervis, who had been the third string point guard for most of the season. However, Mervis, and Jack Campion, junior guard, did not have good first halves, as they turned the ball over four times. Simply put the team didn’t look right, so Gouard threw Mervis in to change it up, and perhaps settle the team down.
To Gouard’s credit, this adjustment was exactly what USI needed, as for the next four minutes, Mervis dished out two assists, didn’t turn the ball over, and most importantly led the team on a run that cut the deficit down to six points when the game could’ve swung either way. Dunham drained a three-pointer in this stretch and played solid defense to contain Lindenwood’s wings. To close the half, USI did what looked implausible minutes earlier; they tied the game up at 38 points a piece. Key baskets from Mielke, Harrison and Randall washed away what was, for the most part, a rough first half for USI.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair, as both teams were able to make adjustments. Unfortunately for USI, Stephen picked up his third foul early on and Alex Horiuk, junior center, entered the game. Horiuk played a solid couple of minutes in the second-half relief, scoring three baskets, and utilizing his height.
In need of some second-half scoring, USI turned to Damoni Harrison, and he delivered. He scored 13 of his 26 points in the second half, grabbed some rebounds, and played solid defense. His play rubbed off on the team, as USI limited turning the ball over in the second half, contained Lindenwood’s outside shooters to 1/12, forced a couple of turnovers, and made most of them, scoring 10 points off turnovers.
With just under five minutes to go, Jayland Randall, junior guard, hit a clutch three-pointer, after Lindenwood cut the USI lead to four points. Unphased by this, Lindenwood matched the three, and got a stop, and another point from the free-throw line to cut the lead to three. The Lions added to this quick run with another bucket after USI’s defense had a mental lapse and left the basket wide open. The lead now sat at a mere point.
Harrison then took the initiative and drew a foul, but missed his free throw on a 1-1 attempt. Out of nowhere, Campion came up clutch, stole the ball from a Lindenwood opponent, and scored a fastbreak layup that carried energy to the entire arena. The next couple of minutes would be back and forth, where both teams would score baskets.
The key moment in the last minute was a steal made by Josiah Dunham, which led to Campion making two free throws after the Lions had to foul. These two free throws would grow the lead to six. With one last chance, Lindenwood missed a key three-pointer and was forced to foul Randall. Randall would split his free throws, but ultimately, the game was over at that point.
Final: USI 80 Lindenwood 73
Takeaways:

The wing duo of Damoni Harrison and Jayland Randall was incredible today, as they combined for over half of USI’s 80 points in the game. Jack Mielke was a presence, who hit a couple of important baskets and helped anchor the paint when Stephen Olowoniyi was in foul trouble. Olowoniyi was uncharacteristically undisciplined, committing a few unnecessary fouls, but his play in the second half was solid.
Point guard play was shaky, as Kodi had three turnovers, and junior guard Braxton Jones was in foul trouble for most of the first half and ultimately didn’t play much. Campion got most of the minutes off the bench, but he wasn’t himself for most of the game. However, in the final minutes of the second half, he played the hits and came in clutch when needed.
One thing that surprised me was Jared Washington, junior guard, not getting much play time tonight (four minutes). He is the fifth leading scorer on the team and plays excellent defense, but his play lately has not been there. Perhaps players like Dunham and Jones have leapfrogged him on the depth chart as of now it is something to bookmark for later. He’s a competitive guy, so perhaps this lack of play will light a fire in him.
The Screaming Eagles look to replicate this performance as they continue competing in conference play.