Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jarrett Hamilton and Brennan McElroy each recorded career highs in points to lead UIndy men's basketball past Mount St. Joseph, 87-48, in its season opener on Saturday afternoon at Nicoson Hall.

Hamilton recorded 20 points, including 4-of-4 three-point shooting, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, while McElroy had 14 points, including a trio of dunks, three steals and two rebounds as the Greyhounds opened their season with a win for the sixth year in a row.

Wilbur O'Neal added 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 7-of-8 at the free throw line with six rebounds and Adrian Moss tallied 13 points, six steals, four assists and four rebounds.

UIndy shot 60.4 percent from the field (29-48), including 10-of-18 three-pointers, and forced 23 turnovers by the Lions that led to 34 points. UIndy also had a 27-2 edge in fast break points and 13-0 advantage in second-chance points with a 33-20 overall rebounding lead.

The Lions were held to 35.6 percent shooting (16-45), including just 6-of-19 from two-point range. Alex Cole led the way with 13 points and David Mann scored 10.

"We picked up our pressure defense and started to take things away," UIndy head coach Stan Gouard said. "McElroy really got out in the passing lanes to get some steals and dunks that really energized the team."

Mount St. Joseph opened the scoring with a three-pointer and eventually led by eight, 16-8, less than seven minutes into the game. UIndy immediately responded with a 12-0 run as Hamilton took over with five points in a row and an assist that led to a Miles Mitchell three-pointer as the Hounds took the lead, 20-16, with 8:23 to play.

"Jarrett really shot the ball and saw the floor well," Gouard said. "He made some good decisions and even his turnovers were from aggressive plays."

The lead continued to grow as Mitchell hit another three-pointer to put UIndy up 10, 29-19, but MSJ hung within seven when the Hounds' defense took over. McElroy had back-to-back steals that led to a fast break lay-up and dunk and then another steal by Mitchell led to a Moss fast break bucket to put UIndy up 15, 39-24. The Lions came back with a bucket, but UIndy responded with a Reece Cheatham three-pointer to lead by 16 at halftime, 42-26.

The Greyhounds kept up the pressure in the second half and took their first 20-point lead, 57-36, with 11:58 to go after Cheatham found Hamilton for a triple. The Lions were never closer than 18 points the rest of the way as UIndy pulled away to secure the victory.

"This is a hard game to get up for and we started slow and played sloppy, but our guys responded when we were down 16-8 and picked up their play," Gouard said. "If we can defend like we did today, then we'll be pretty good."

UIndy remains at Nicoson Hall on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to host Cincinnati-Clermont, the national runner-up in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association last season.