EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Interstat) — LA Hayes scored 21 points and Southern Indiana used an early burst to pull away from St. Mary-Woods for a 112-42 victory in a men’s NCAA Division I basketball game Wednesday at Physical Activities Center. The Screaming Eagles evened their season record at 1-1 in front of an announced attendance of 969. St. Mary-Woods, a non-divisional opponent, was the visiting team.

The decisive part of the game came in the opening minutes. Southern Indiana scored the first nine points, beginning with Fredy-Salam Sylla’s jump shot and a Johann Pautsch tip-in layup. Josiah Dunham followed with a 3-point jump shot and a layup, forcing St. Mary-Woods to play from behind. Cristian Webster and Marques Cooke answered with jump shots for the visitors, but Ari Gooch made a tip-in dunk and Afan Trnka added a layup as the Screaming Eagles restored control.

Southern Indiana kept extending its lead throughout the first half. Hayes made a layup and a jump shot, Didier Maleng scored on a layup and a jump shot, and Donovan Hunter connected on a 3-point jump shot. Gooch added a layup and a dunk, and Hayes hit a 3-point field goal. St. Mary-Woods received a 3-point field goal from AJ Foster and a free throw from Webster, but Southern Indiana answered with another Hayes 3-pointer, a Josh Smith dunk, a Hryshchuk layup and a Hryshchuk dunk. Yamanouchi-Williams made a free throw and a layup as the margin continued to grow.

The Screaming Eagles maintained their pressure late in the first half. Camryn Brewer made a layup for St. Mary-Woods, but Hryshchuk answered with a layup and a tip-in layup. Donavon Barnett made a layup for the visitors, and Hayes responded with a jump shot. Hryshchuk threw down an alley-oop, Alem Fejzic made a 3-point field goal, and Smith made a layup before the break. Demetrius Moss made a layup and a free throw for St. Mary-Woods, but Southern Indiana led comfortably at halftime.

The second half followed a similar pattern. Foster made a 3-point field goal for St. Mary-Woods, but Kaden Brown answered with a 3-point field goal. Pautsch made two free throws, Ben Chestnut made a layup for the visitors, and Dunham hit a 3-point stepback jump shot. Moss made a layup, but Brown connected from 3-point range and Pautsch dunked. Maleng made a free throw and a layup, and Jude Vetter made a layup for St. Mary-Woods. Hunter made a free throw, Gooch dunked, Warren made a jump shot and Maleng added a layup as Southern Indiana pulled away.

St. Mary-Woods continued to compete in the second half. Barnett made a 3-point jump shot and a layup, and Kevay Shelby made a jump shot. Moss added a jump shot and a layup, and Vetter made a layup. Camryn Brewer made a layup, and Barnett made a free throw. But Southern Indiana had answers throughout. Hunter made a tip-in layup, Hryshchuk made two free throws and a dunk, Yamanouchi-Williams made a layup and a dunk, Smith made a layup, and Fejzic made two 3-point jump shots, a 3-point field goal and a free throw. Hayes made three consecutive free throws, a jump shot off a turnover and a late jump shot as the lead remained large.

St. Mary-Woods received scoring from several players. Webster made a jump shot and a free throw, Cooke made a jump shot, Foster made two 3-point field goals, Barnett made a 3-point jump shot, a layup and a free throw, Moss made several layups and a jump shot, Brewer made two layups, Vetter made two layups, Chestnut made a layup and Shelby made a jump shot.

Southern Indiana finished with 112 points from 79 possessions and an offensive rating of 141.5. The Screaming Eagles had 18 offensive rebounds, 16 assists, seven blocks, four turnovers and 10 fouls. St. Mary-Woods scored 42 points. The game took place at Physical Activities Center in Evansville, Indiana, and Southern Indiana’s next scheduled game is against Evansville on Saturday.

Hayes, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound guard from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who previously attended Saints Vincent and Mary High School, finished with 24 minutes, 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and one block. He had played four minutes in the season opener at Belmont. Hryshchuk, a 6-7, 190-pound forward from International School, added 19 minutes, 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block. Yamanouchi-Williams, a 6-10, 230-pound forward from Ribet Academy in California, had 20 minutes, seven points, 13 rebounds, one assist and three blocks. Dunham, a 6-0, 180-pound guard from Evansville Christian, contributed 10 minutes, eight points, two rebounds and one assist.

Gooch, a 6-2, 185-pound guard from Park Center IB World High School, had 11 minutes, eight points, two rebounds, two assists and one block. Maleng, a 6-9, 225-pound forward from Eagle Point Christian Academy, added 11 minutes, 11 points and two rebounds. Pautsch, a 6-10 forward from International School, had seven minutes, six points, three rebounds, two assists and one block. Smith, a 6-2, 170-pound guard from Madison Preparatory Academy, posted 20 minutes, six points, one rebound and two assists. Warren, a 6-1, 185-pound guard from Knoxville Catholic High School, had 13 minutes, two points, six rebounds and four assists. Fejzic, a 6-3, 190-pound guard from Potters House Academy, finished with 19 minutes, 13 points, one rebound and one assist.

No point spread, betting line, over-under or game simulator projection was available for the game.