INDIANAPOLIS- The University of Indianapolis and Great Lakes Valley Conference newcomer Illinois-Springfield needed extra time to decide the winner of their contest on Monday night at Nicoson Hall as the Greyhounds came away with a 90-85 victory in double overtime in a hard fought, physical contest that garnered 55 personal fouls and 70 free throw attempts.

 Poor shooting doomed the Greyhounds for most the contest as UIndy connected on just 12 of their 31 first-half shot attempts and continued their shooting woes in the second stanza. The Hounds connected on their final six shots in the second half, including the game-tying basket by Sergey Struck, but had made just five of their previous 31 field goal tries. Indianapolis finished the evening 30-82 from the field for a 37% clip while UIS was 28-57 for 49%.

 
The UIndy defense proved to be a big factor in the victory as they forced 24 turnovers as opposed to committing just nine of their own. The Greyhounds also pulled down 20 offensive rebounds, despite being outrebounded 49-44 on the night. 

 
Indianapolis jumped out to an early 11-4 lead on a three-point basket by Ryan Sims with just under 17:00 remaining in the opening stanza before a 8-2 run by the Prairie Stars closed the gap to 13-12 at the first media timeout.

 
A dunk by Illinois-Springfield's Caleb Sutton knotted the score at 26-26 and a pair of Sutton free throws would give UIS their first lead of the contest at 31-30 with 3:38 remaining in the half. The visiting Prairie Stars would carry the momentum into the locker room, holding a slim 38-36 margin at the break.

 
Illinois-Springfield built upon their first half lead, extending their advantage to double-digits on a long three-pointer by Richard Oruche that forced a Greyhound timeout as the hosts trailed 49-38 with 14:24 left to play. The UIS defense stood strong, limiting UIndy to a single basket on their first 12 shot opportunities of the second half.

 
Indianapolis slowly chipped away at the Prairie Star lead, closing the margin to 55-50 on a Larry Woods free throw at the 5:55 mark. It appeared as if Illinois-Springfiled would walk out of Nicoson Hall with the victory, but an aggressive defensive attack and poor free throw shooting late in the ballgame allowed the Greyhounds to stick around and eventually force overtime on Struck's inside bucket with just under three seconds left in regulation.

 
Both squads got off to quick starts in the overtime period as the score was knotted at 76-76 before a 15-foot jump shot by Matt Reynolds put UIS ahead with 0:36 left in the first overtime. However, Woods collected a missed shot by DeWann Squires and put a shot of is own up and in off the glass to force a second overtime as a last-second opportunity off the hand of the Prairie Stars' Brandon Farmer glanced off the front of the iron as time expired in the first extra period.

 
The second overtime period proved to be much like the first as neither team could build a lead of more than two points, but unlike the first five minutes of extra time, the game would ultimately be decided. Sims drilled a shot from just behind the free throw line to give the Greyhounds a 86-85 advantage with 26.8 left on the clock. Woods once again came up with a big rebound for Indianapolis after a missed attempt by UIS and the Prairie Stars were forced to foul with less than 10 seconds remaining. Sims buried a pair of attempts at the line putting the Hounds up for good as UIndy emerged victorious by the final tally of 90-85.

 
Sims paced six Greyhound players in double-figures with 19 on the evening to go along with seven rebounds.  Woods poured in 18 points of his own and grabbed eight boards, while Darius Adams finished with 16 points and 10 assists, Squires with 13 points and six rebounds, Struck with 11 points and eight boards, and Nate Blank capped the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

 
The win improves Indianapolis to 8-4 on the year and 2-1 in league play as Illinois-Springfield fell to 4-5 and 1-3 in GLVC contests. The Greyhounds will return to the hardwood on Thursday night for at GLVC matchup at Maryville University with tip-off scheduled for 9:00 PM.