ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Less than 24 hours after their women's basketball counterparts bowed out of the GLVC Tournament in an
overtime loss to Lewis, the UIndy's men's team met a similar fate Friday in a 92-89 OT loss to the Flyers in the quarterfinals.
The 5-seed Flyers (22-8) picked up their second win against the Greyhounds in the last 15 days, and avenged a
70-61 loss to UIndy in last season's GLVC Tournament quarterfinals.
UIndy (20-7) erased multiple late deficits and had its chances to win or extend the game near the end of both regulation and the extra session.
Down 78-75 with under one minute remaining in regulation, senior
Joe Retic stepped up and scored four in a row – including a go-ahead field goal with 19 seconds left. After Lewis tied the game at 79 with a free throw on the other end, senior
Jordan Loyd had a chance to hit the game-winner for the Hounds, but his jumper just missed.
In overtime, the Greyhounds found themselves down 90-85 with less than a minute left. After consecutive lay-ups from sophomore
Eric Davidson and senior
Tyler Rambo the Lewis lead was just 90-89. Following two Flyer free throws, which made it 92-89, Davidson had a last-second 3-pointer to potentially tie the game, but the usually-pure shooter's attempt was off.
Loyd finished with a team-high 20 points, adding six rebounds and a pair of steals. Retic totaled 19 points thanks to his perfect 10-for-10 effort at the foul line, adding five assists and five boards.
Rambo followed with 15 points, and junior
Ernest Maize led the team with 10 rebounds.
UIndy led for most of the first period, at one point jumping out to a 15-4 lead behind a 9-0 run. After a bit of a cold spell from the Greyhounds, the Flyers were able to climb back into the game, and trailed 38-33 at the halftime break.
The Hounds held the Flyers to just 1 for 10 from long range during the first period, but Lewis hit 14 of 21 from inside the 3-point line, finishing the half at 48 percent overall.
In the second half the two sides went back and forth, totaling three ties and four lead changes. There were a combined 35 personal fouls, as well, leading to 52 second-half free throws.
Despite hitting only nine field goals in the period, the Hounds sank 19 of their 25 foul shots. But the Flyers outscored the Greyhounds 46-41 over the final period, forcing the overtime session.
Without their leading scorer Max Strus – who fouled out in regulation – the Flyers relied on Miles Simelton to do the heavy lifting in OT. His 3-pointer with 2:33 on the overtime clock gave Lewis an 86-81 lead, which forced a UIndy timeout.
Despite clawing back to within one, and getting the last-season chance from Davidson, the Greyhounds could not overcome the overtime deficit.
UIndy outrebounded Lewis 46 to 35, including a 15 to 7 advantage in offensive boards. Lewis finished with an edge in field goal percentage (.492 to .403), and also outpaced the Hounds in points off of turnovers (28 to 15).
With the win, the Flyers advance to Saturday's semifinal to meet top-seeded Bellarmine. The Hounds now have to wait until Sunday night for the NCAA Division II Selection Show, which airs on NCAA.com at 10:30 p.m. ET.
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