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INDIANAPOLIS – James Herzog missed his first free throw, but made the second with 0.5 seconds remaining for visiting Kentucky Wesleyan to clip No. 12 UIndy, 74-73, at Nicoson Hall on Saturday afternoon.
The Greyhounds (17-6, 9-6 GLVC) had tied the game with 33.3 seconds remaining on
James Hollowell's jumper in the paint, but the Panthers (17-6, 9-6 GLVC) had the final shot. After working the ball around against UIndy's scrambling defense, the ball found its way to Herzog on the left wing. He drove toward's the basket and was met by Hollowell, who was called for the block to put Herzog on the line to win the game.
It seemed unlikely that the game would come down to the final seconds after Kentucky Wesleyan built a 21-point lead, 49-28, with 15:18 to go in the game. In less than 10 minutes, the Greyhounds were able to go on a 36-14 run to take their first lead of the game, 64-63, with 5:31 to go on Hollowell's jumper from the left elbow.
After a free throw by KWC, UIndy increased the lead to three, 67-64, on the next possession as
Tyrae Robinson drove into the lane and dished to Hollowell for a three-pointer from the left corner that just beat the shot clock. Hollowell scored the final 14 UIndy points on his way to 19 for the game.
The lead remained at three, 69-66, with 2:58 to go after two Hollowell free throws, but KWC tied it up on a Lucas Barker three-pointer from the right wing 18 seconds later.
Reece Cheatham missed a floater in the lane for UIndy and Barker came back with a drive to put KWC back in front, 71-69, with 1:55 to play.
Each team failed to score on their next possession as KWC couldn't extend the lead and then fouled Hollowell on the rebound to give him two freebies to knot the game at 71 with 1:03 to play. Again, the Greyhounds couldn't keep Barker out of the lane as he scored the last two of his game-high 25 points on a drive with 51 seconds to play to set up the final sequence.
Cheatham led the Greyhounds with 22 points, 17 coming in the second half, while Hollowell scored all 19 of his points in the second half after UIndy trailed at intermission, 38-24.
Tyrae Robinson added 10 points and five assists.
Besides Barker's 25, the Panthers also got 16 points, five rebounds and four assists from Herzog, all career highs. Dazmond Starke added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Kentucky Wesleyan shot 53.3 percent (24-45) overall and 4-of-10 behind the three-point line. KWC also converted 22-of-30 free throws (.733), including 14-of-17 on the way to its first half lead. The Greyhounds countered by shooting 55.6 percent (15-27) in the second half to finish at 25-of-53 (.472). After making just 2-of-9 behind the arc in the first, the Greyhounds made their first six of the second half to finish 8-of-17 (.471). UIndy also made 15-of-22 (.682) at the line, including 13-of-16 in the second stanza.
The Panthers were dominant inside as 19-of-20 two-point field goals were scored in the paint for 38 points, while the Hounds had just 26. Kentucky Wesleyan had more rebounds, 31-27, but scored no second-chance points and UIndy had only two. Each team had 13 turnovers with KWC holding a slight edge, 16-14, in points scored off them.
The first half was all Panthers as they scored the first six points of the game and forced UIndy to play catch-up the entire game. The Hounds were still within one, 18-17, after a Robinson jumper with 8:13 to play when KWC took control. The Panthers went on a 15-2 run over the next six minutes to lead by 14, 33-19, and held that margin into the locker room, 38-24.
The Greyhounds play their final regular season road game on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. against Lewis (14-8, 8-6 GLVC) and then return home for the final two. UIndy hosts GLVC East Division leader Wisconsin-Parkside (18-5, 13-2 GLVC) on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 3:15 p.m. and conclude the regular season against Saint Joseph's (6-16, 4-11 GLVC) on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7:45 p.m.
