LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell men's basketball team put together a furious second half push to rally from down as many as 16, but came up just short on Friday night against Southern Indiana, falling 78-71 to drop to 3-12 on the year. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams traded buckets for the first 10 minutes of action before a 8-4 run by the Eagles put them on top by 10, 28-18. The Cardinals got two contested three pointers from Mason Alexander, with a basket by Jevaughn Ferguson in the middle, to pull within four at the break, 34-30. 
• USI came out of the locker room hot, quickly pushing their four-point advantage to 16 after a 20-8 run over the first seven minutes. The Eagles maintained a double-digit distance for nearly 10 minutes before John Zimmerman and Jordan Jermain got a layup followed by a steal and bucket to spark a 13-2 Jewell run. With just under three minutes to play Jermain and Robbie Hanson hit consecutive threes to make it a two point game, 73-71. The Cardinals went cold, going 0-for-6 over teh final 1:19 while the Screaming Eagles hit 3-of-4 free throws to escape the Mabee Center with the victory.  

FOR THE CARDINALS

• Three Cardinals finished in double-figures led by Jermain and Eysan Wiley who each had 13, while Mason Alexander added 12. 
• Wiley led Jewell with seven rebounds as the Cardinals as a team were out-rebounded 41-33, but had 12 offensive boards, led by five from Kobe McKinley. 
• The Cardinals shot 37% from the floor for the game but forced USI into 16 turnovers, leading to 16 points. 

FOR THE SCREAMING EAGLES

• Southern Indiana was led by big man Josh Price's 34 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. 
• Jelani Simmons also finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards while Mateo Rivera had 11 points and eight assists. 

UP NEXT
The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday afternoon as they host Indianapolis at 3 p.m.