OWENSBORO, Ky. – The University of Indianapolis football team emphatically earned its first win of the season Saturday afternoon, taking down host Kentucky Wesleyan, 37-7. The Greyhounds (1-3) benefitted from 130 all-purpose yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns from junior Tuwan Payton.
 
UIndy overcame a sloppy start that included two lost fumbles and a missed field goal in the first three possessions. But after falling behind by seven early, the Hounds ran off 37 consecutive points to earn the convincing victory.
 
Payton racked up 96 yards of his all-purpose total in the receiving category. Both of his TDs came from outside of the red zone, including from 56 and 32 yards out.
 
Junior Andrew Walker hit a major milestone in the second quarter by becoming the 13th Greyhound to hit 2,000 career rushing yards. The Chicago native finished the day with 78 yards on the ground to go with a rushing TD.
 
Sophomore Shakir Paschall compiled 68 yards on just seven carries, including his first touchdown of the year, but it was redshirt-freshman Tyre Lee that led all rushers with 87 yards, coming mostly in the fourth quarter.
 
The Panthers got on the board first with a 64-yard scoring strike to All-American receiver Keelan Cole. UIndy had an answer on the very next series, however, as Purichia found Payton for a 56-yard bomb to tie it up – good for UIndy's longest play from scrimmage of the season.
 
The Hounds continued to roll, scoring two more touchdowns before the half, plus another 17 points in the third quarter.
 
Leading 20-7 coming out of the break, the Hounds scored on back-to-back possessions to put the game away. After the defense forced a punt to start the third quarter, Payton earned his second TD with a 32-yard scamper to up the lead to 20.
 
Another KWC punt followed, and the Hounds looked to follow suite after offensive pass interference made it 2nd & 21. But Paschall broke off a spectacular 40-yard rush, one that saw the 240-pounder hurdle a KWC defender, and later finished the drive with a three-yard goal-line plunge.

Junior Brad Schickel later  tacked on a 28-yard field goal to punctuate the game's scoring.
 
Defensively, the Hounds came up with three interceptions – one each from Korey Rogan, Zach Hiss and Robert Williams. The latter two garnered their first career pick, while Rogan had the longest return of the three at 17 yards. Senior linebacker Derrick Bryant had a team-high nine tackles, while redshirt-freshman Jacob Schmatz was credited with two sacks.

The Greyhounds wrap up their three-game road swing at Truman State University next weekend. Kickoff from Kirksville, Mo., is set for Saturday, Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. ET.