Box score

INDIANAPOLIS-  Fourth-ranked Southern Indiana escpaed with a 78-70 win in Great Lakes Valley Conference basketball action at Nicoson Hall.  The teams were tied late, but foul trouble came back to hurt the Greyhounds, aiding in the Eagle win.

The story early was the defensive pressure by UIndy, especially Devin Williams, who drew the primary assignment on the league's leading scorer Jamar Smith.  Williams held the nation's seventh-leading scorer scoreless in the opening half.

The USI bigs were key in the victory.  Mohamed Ntumba scored the first three buckets down low and the spirited visting squad owned a quick 6-0 lead, energizing a solid USI crowd.  Sergey Struck entered the game to help neutralize Ntumba.  Struck would help give UIndy a three-point edge later in the half by draining a three for the top of the ket for a 17-14 edge.  The Greyhound lead would grow to as many as eight in the first stanza before USI got book-end threes from Melvin Gray around free throws from Ntumba for a 35-30 Eagle advantage.

UIndy would close the half on an 8-0 run with triples coming from Nate Blank and Ryan Sims.  Ntumba led all scorers at the break with 14 points on 6-of-7 from the floor, but his teammates combined for just 7-of-23 (.304) shooting in the first 20 minutes.

Larry Woods picked-up his fourth foul before the midway point of the second half and Sims and Blank followed in the next few minutes in a physical affair.  With key Hounds relegated to the bench, the Eagles took advantage, turning a one-point Hound lead into a six-point margin for the visitors.  An alley-oop slam by Tyrone Bradshaw on the break exclamated the run, but it only tested UIndy's resolve.

A pair of steals by Darius Adams led to easy buckets on the other end and the Greyhounds re-knotted the score at 64-apiece.  A Kevin Gant steal and layup gave USI a three-point lead and Gray hit a free throw as the Eagles led 71-67 with under a minute to play.  An offensive rebound on a missed free throw seemingly put the game out of reach at six with just 30 seconds to play.

Sims connected on a long three but the deficit was too much and the Eagles remained unbeaten with a 78-70 win.

The Greyhounds host No. 13 Kentucky Wesleyan Saturday afternoon at Nicoson Hall.  The game is set for a 3:15 p.m. tip.

Notes:  Thursday's game marked the first since the loss of Jeron Lewis, who passed away a week ago ... UIndy observed a moment of silence for Lewis and helped raise money for his infant son, Jamel ... Smith, a transfer from the University of Illinois, had not been held scoreless in the first half all season.