The defending Great Lakes Valley Champions (GLVC) couldn’t hold off eighth-ranked Drury as USI fell 71-65 during Sunday’s title game.

After a long miss placed inbound pass by senior forward/center Keith DeWitt to senior guard Kenyon Smith, Drury took position with 36 seconds left in the second half.

“We have worked that play hundreds of times,” DeWitt said. “I probably put a little to much on the pass, but a healthy Kenyon would have caught it.“

With the turnover, Drury took only seven seconds to get down the court to get senior guard Alex Hall in position to knock down a three-pointer, putting the Panthers up by two.

Hall had Drury’s last seven point of the game, totaling 34 points against the Eagles to be named the tournament’s most valuable player.

“We did the best we could to stop him (Hall) and contest his shots,” men’s basketball Head Coach Rodney Watson said. “Alex is so good changing his direction, but you have to compliment the passers because he gets the ball in his pocket every catch.”

With a game of 15 lead changes by Drury, none of which was larger than six points, the game was a hard fought battle.

If you’re a college basketball fan you got all you wanted, said Watson.

“This is a ugly, sick feeling and it’s probably a good thing for this team,” Watson said in the locker room following the game. “We tend to respond with our backs against the wall.”

Last night after the game title, USI received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament and will play in the Midwest Regional. The Eagles are the second seed in the regional and will start national tournament play Saturday at 2:30 p.m. when they take on seventh-seeded Wayne State University (17-9).

The loss hurts, but we can’t dwell on it because the tournament is coming up, said Thomas.

USI is returning to the tournament for the third straight season, but the Eagles have failed to make it farther than the first round all three times.

“Our next game is our biggest game,” Thomas said. “We just have to get the first game out of the way to get that monkey off our backs.”