EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Michigan Tech men's basketball team committed 21 turnovers that turned into 28 points for Southern Indiana as the host Screaming Eagles won 72-55 at the Physical Activities Center. The Huskies (1-3), who trailed by 13 at halftime, cut the margin to single digits in the second half before losing by 17.

"Turnovers and second chance points killed us," said head coach Kevin Luke. "They're by far the best team we've played, and we were tentative when we needed to be aggressive.

"I was happy with the way we battled back. We need to continue to learn and get better."

The score was 11-10 with 14:00 to play in the first half before the Eagles put together a 14-2 run. Five Tech turnovers during a six-minute span allowed the hosts to surge ahead by 13, a lead they maintained heading into halftime (38-25).

The margin grew to as many as 18 early in the second half and was still 15 with 8:52 to go before the Huskies made their move. Mike Hojnacki hit two 3-pointers and Matt Gaedke drilled another to work the deficit down to just 63-52 with 7:25 to play. The Black and Gold held USI scoreless for the next four minutes, but only managed an Ali Haidar basket during that time. Gaedke nearly made it a seven-point game at the 4:45 mark after a T.J. Brown takeaway, but his layup missed.

Southern Indiana was able to push the lead back to double figures at the free throw line with 3:40 to play. The Huskies couldn't find the range the rest of the way. Haidar's bucket-the one that had cut the gap to 63-54 with 5:18 to play-proved to be Tech's last field goal of the game.

USI took 16 more shots thanks to the turnover disparity (21-10) and 15 offensive rebounds. The Eagles made good on 28-of-59 (47.5 percent) compared to 19-of-43 (44.2) for Tech.

Hojnacki was Michigan Tech's only player in double digits with a season-high 18 points. Haidar posted nine points in his first career start. Tyler Molesworth, who entered the contest averaging 16.7 points, posted seven points, five rebounds and four assists.

Michigan Tech will remain in Evansville for day two of USI's Bill Jorgenson Memorial Tournament tomorrow. The Huskies will face No. 7-ranked Bellarmine at 6:15 p.m. (ET).

Notes: Tech's Chris Baugh did not play because of injury … Freshman T.J. Brown and sophomore Matt Gaedke joined Haidar by getting their first career starts.