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Evansville, Ind. - The No. 20 Southern Indiana men's basketball team led from start to finish and hit 11 three-pointers as the Screaming Eagles earned the 92-74 victory over No. 23 Lewis University in the 2014 Deaconess Great Lakes Valley Conference Quarterfinals at the Ford Center on Friday (March 7) afternoon.

The Screaming Eagles, led by a team-best 23 points and four three-pointers from senior forward Orlando Rutledge, converted 57.9% (11-for-19) of their long-range attempts. As a team, USI shot 55.6% (30-for-54) from the floor.

Rutledge was one of five USI players who scored in double-figures, including junior guard Gavin Schumann (16 points), senior forward Taylor Wischmeier (15 points, 9 rebounds), senior guard Lawrence Thomas (14 points, 8 assists, 4 steals) and senior forward Aaron Nelson (12 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists).

"I'm disappointed we didn't play better," Lewis head men's basketball coach Scott Trost said. "(Southern Indiana) got up early and put us on our heels.

"They are a tough team to beat when they shoot the ball as well as they did, so you have to give them credit."

With the win, Southern Indiana improves to 23-5 and advances to the GLVC semifinals where they will play the winner of Illinois Springfield and Drury at 6 PM on Saturday (March 8) evening. Lewis falls to 21-6 and will find out their postseason fate on Sunday (March 9) night, as the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament selection show airs here at 9:30 PM CT.

The first six minutes of the second half proved to be the difference in the game, as the Screaming Eagles went on a 19-6 run to extend their 43-39 lead at the intermission to 17. Wischmeier scored six points during that stretch, while Thomas and Nelson both added five.

Lewis junior forward Julian Lewis (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) scored a game-high 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. His 10 field goals are a career-high and a team-season high for the Flyers.

Sophomore center Kyle Nelson (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) tied a career-high with 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting, while junior guard Ryan Jackson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) finshed with 14 points.

Lewis shot 48.3% (29-for-60) from the field for the game and 30.8% (4-for-13) from three-point range.