Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy men's basketball team held the lead on multiple occassions against old-time Division I city rival Butler before the Bulldogs pulled away, 63-47, in front of 8,163 at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday night.

Reece Cheatham led the preseason NCAA Division II No. 20 Greyhounds with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Ball State transfer Tyrae Robinson had 10 points, four assists and two rebounds in his first game in the Crimson and Grey.

Trailing by three at halftime, 30-27, the Greyhounds scored the first eight points of the second half as Cheatham and Robinson hit back-to-back triples and Cheatham added a lay-up to put the Hounds up five, 35-30, with 17:12 to play. UIndy missed a pair of shots to extend the lead as both teams went scoreless for the next 90 seconds until the Bulldogs put together an 11-0 run to regain the lead, 41-35, with 13:13 to play on a Kellen Dunham three-pointer.

"The reason we got the lead was because we got stops," head coach Stan Gouard said. "Once they started to score, that forced us to walk the ball up against a set defense. We're at our best when we're running. Then we started missing shots and that led us not guarding the way we did in the first half."

The Greyhounds stayed close and were still within six, 51-45, with 5:59 remaining after Robinson hit two free throws. Rotnei Clarke scored in the paint 13 seconds later as the Bulldogs rattled off 10 more in a row to put the game away.

After shooting 45.8 percent in the first half, UIndy was held to just six field goals and 21.4 percent in the second half by Butler to finish at 32.7 percent. The Bulldogs were consistent through both halves and were held to 37.5 percent by the UIndy defense. The difference came at the free throw line as Butler was 15-of-20 in the second half on the way to a 23-of-32 performance, while UIndy made 8-of-12 for the game. The bigger Bulldogs were also able to acquire 16 offensive rebounds on the way to winning on the glass, 42-25, which led to 15 second-chance points.

"I think the energy and effort was there," Gouard said. "We played a really good first half and had a better approach. In the second half, we just weren't able to score. We certainly have some things we need to tweak, but that's why we play this game. We found some things out about our team and we'll get back to work this week."

Eastern Illinois transfer James Hollowell added six points and four rebounds off the bench, while Joe Daniels had five points and two blocks. Junior Leland Brown joined Cheatham and Robinson in playing 30 minutes for the Greyhounds.

"Those three guys are our core group of guys," Gouard said. "Reece and Leland our are veterans and they know what is going on and where to be. Tyrae is our floor general. They did some good things and will need to be there because it's going to take some time for our young guys, but they are going to come along as the season progresses."

Clarke led Butler with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Khyle Marshall had 14 points and nine rebounds and Dunham finished with 10.

UIndy opens the regular season at Nicoson Hall next Saturday, Nov. 10, against another old rival, Franklin.