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HTSN (WRTV 6.2) Replays

Friday, Feb. 17, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 18, 12 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 18, 5 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Seniors Adrian Moss and Wilbur O'Neal along with a sophomore ignited a huge second half for No. 25 UIndy men's basketball to defeat Lewis, 73-64, in front of 1,483 at Nicoson Hall on Senior Night.

Moss had 18 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and two steals, while Wilbur O'Neal chipped in 11 points, nine rebounds and career-high three blocks for the Greyhounds (17-7, 10-6 GLVC). Reserve forward Leland Brown scored 13 of his career-high 15 points in the second half and tied his career high with seven rebounds against the Flyers (14-10, 6-10). Brown was playing in his first game since having to come out of last Thursday's game with an injury that forced him to miss Saturday's game.

The win was critical for the Greyhounds coming into the game ranked sixth in the first NCAA Midwest Region rankings to defeat another regionally-ranked foe as the Flyers were eighth in the Midwest.

The game was a low-scoring defensive struggle in the first half with Lewis leading at the break, 28-21, but both teams ramped up the offense in the second half, with UIndy scoring 52 points in the comeback. The Greyhounds shot 57 percent in the second half and made 17-of-20 free throws after shooting 8-of-28 from the field and 4-of-9 at the free throw line to open the game.

"I thought our guys took it upon themselves to come out in the second half differently than they did in the first," head coach Stan Gouard said. "In the first half, we left a lot of points on the board. We missed seven lay-ups and five free throws, so that's 19 points. We just needed to start making shots. We also started ball-screening and put the ball in Moss' hands to ride his coattails. He made great decisions tonight and got guys the ball in situations to score."

Lewis also shot over 50 percent in the second (12-of-22), but also turned the ball over 10 times (16 for the game) that led to a 12-6 edge in points off turnovers. UIndy also turned an 11-4 deficit in second-chance points in the first half into a 7-3 lead in the second on the way to a nearly even rebound margin of 35-34 for Lewis.

"We tried to get the ball out of the hands of (senior guard Chris) McClellan," Gouard said. "We trapped him a lot and made him give it up to make other guys make plays. We also did a good job of wearing them down as the game went on and they started making some mental mistakes."

Reece Cheatham added 11 points to give the Greyhounds four double figure scorers as they ended a three-game home losing streak to the Flyers. Lewis was led by Chris McClellan with 17 points, eight fewer than he scored in the first meeting, and Nick Valla off the bench with 15 points.

Leading by seven at halftime, the Flyers took a game-high lead of eight, 32-24, less than three minutes into the second half. The Greyhounds came right back with a three-point play from Brown to ignite a 13-5 run to tie the game at 37 after Miles Mitchell made a floater in the paint with 12:17 to play.

Thirty seconds later, Lewis hit a three-pointer to stay in the lead and then David Bryant hit a three on the right wing to put the Flyers back up six, 45-39, with 9:50 left in the game. Lewis maintained the lead, 50-47, when the Hounds put together a 6-0 run to regain the lead, 53-50, for the first time since 14-13 in the first half. UIndy held off Lewis as Moss found Brown for lay-ups on back-to-back possessions and then after a missed free throw, Brown stole the outlet pass for an easy basket to put UIndy up five, 58-53, with 3:30 to go.

"A lot of credit goes to our athletic training crew for getting (Brown) healthy, because we weren't sure he was going to be able to play tonight," Gouard said. "He came out with fresh legs. Having him back gives us a different look on the defensive end because he can step out and defend guards and he's a rebounding warrior."

After a couple of free throws, Cheatham hit a three-pointer off a hand-off from Moss on the next possession to push the lead to six. In the final 2:17, UIndy was able to convert 10-of-12 free throws, including the first point of the season for former UIndy baseball player Andrew Armour, to hold off the Flyers. Armour will graduate with his degree in May and joined Moss and O'Neal in pregame Senior Night festivities.

"O'Neal and Moss came in and turned this program around," Gouard said. "I can't take credit for anything. I don't shoot one ball or play one second of defense. They came in a got everybody else to buy in to what we're trying to do and that's how you build a program. I'm really fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach them. There is a lot of basketball to be played and I want to give them as many opportunities as possible to go into the postseason."

The Greyhounds head back on the road for their final two regular season games. UIndy heads to Wisconsin-Parkside (8-16, 1-15 GLVC) on Saturday at 4 p.m. and then St. Joseph's (8-16, 3-13 GLVC) on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. UIndy is also in position to host a SCHEELS Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament game on Sunday, Feb. 26 at Nicoson Hall.