Justin Taylor

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- For a time Thursday, it looked like the Miner basketball team had designs on ending its season with a bang, as it led Southern Indiana for a good portion of the first half.

However, the host Screaming Eagles -- who are still scrambling to earn a spot in next week’s Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament -- held Missouri S&T without a field goal over the final 7:54 of the first half and finished the first 20 minutes on a 25-2 run to break loose from S&T, going on to a 76-55 win in PAC Arena despite a career night from Miner guard Justin Taylor.

The Miners took an early 6-0 lead and kept the advantage for most of the first 12 minutes, moving ahead 21-17 on a layup by Aaron Hays with 7:54 to play in the half. A foul away from the ball on the play kept the ball with the Miners, but the inbounds pass was stolen and the possession eventually led to points for the Eagles.

At the 5:47 mark, Nick Duncheon knocked down a three-point to put USI up 22-21 and the Eagles ran off 17 more points before Taylor, who had 13 of S&T’s points in the first half, hit two free throws with nine seconds to go in the half to get the Miners back on the board.

The Eagles led 42-23 at the half, then built the lead up over 30 points before the Miners trimmed it down to the final margin of 21.

Taylor finished with a career-high 35 points in the loss, going 12-of-19 from the field and hitting all six of his three-point attempts. Taylor also led the Miners with eight rebounds as he posted the most points by a Miner since the 2004-05 season finale when Jermaine Burks scored 38 at Northwest Missouri State.

The loss ends the Miner season with a 3-24 overall record and 0-19 mark in the GLVC.