EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A combination of a slow start and hot shooting by Southern Indiana in the first half doomed Missouri S&T's men's basketball team Thursday night, as the Screaming Eagles raced to a 96-64 Great Lakes Valley Conference win over the Miners at the Physical Activities Center.

USI (14-4, 6-2 GLVC) used an early 19-2 burst to take an early 17-point lead and extended that margin to as much as 27 in the opening half, as it shot 66.7 percent from the field and made seven-of-nine from three-point range.   On the other end, the Miners (3-13, 1-7 GLVC) connected on just 26.3 percent of their field goal attempts during the first 20 minutes of play and made only two of their 16 attempts from long range.

S&T, who trailed 49-24 at the intermission, did improve its numbers in the second half as it made 47.1 percent of its shots after the break.  Most of the second half scoring came from CJ Hedgepeth (Evansville, IN/Harrison), who scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half while playing in front of his hometown audience.

Yahmir Muhammad (Rockford, IL/Auburn) also reached double figures for the Miners with 10 points.

Alex Stein had 18 points to lead six Screaming Eagles in double figures.  USI finished the night by shooting 54.4 percent from the field and went 11-of-22 from three-point land.

Missouri S&T will complete its weekend road swing and a stretch of five games in 10 days on Saturday with a contest against top-ranked Bellarmine in Louisville, Ky.  The game between the Miners and Knights – who defeated Drury 81-59 Thursday night – begins at 2:15 p.m. (Central time).