Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The backcourt tandem of Tyrae Robinson and Reece Cheatham combined for 29 second-half points to lift the No. 14 UIndy men's basketball team (12-1, 4-1 GLVC) past second-ranked Bellarmine (12-1, 4-1), 81-79, Thursday night.  The victory marks the third straight season the Greyhounds have knocked off the perennial power and their second straight win in Knights Hall.

"Our guys believed from day one that we could come in here and win this basketball game," head coach Stan Gouard told WICR after the game.  "Honestly, I think a lot of our guys circled this date on the calendar at the beginning of the year because keep in mind that Bellarmine ended up beating us (in the NCAA Tournament) last year, and some of our guys haven't forgotten that.  We reiterated that in practice yesterday how big of a game that was for us.
 
"Everybody contributed tonight.  I thought our bench was awesome.  It was a total team effort."
 
UIndy handed the rival Knights their first loss of the season despite a raucous 2,027 fans in attendance.
 
"You have to give credit to (Bellarmine) coach (Scott) Davenport for the way he's got this student body here involved.  I think this is the best atmosphere in the league.  It's tough to play here.  You've got the fans right on top of you, yelling at you, but I told our guys at halftime, the end result will tell all.  The fans are talking to you, heckling you.  We've just got to keep playing basketball, and at the end of the game look at the scoreboard and hopefully we come out on top, and we did tonight.
 
"It's a great environment, a fun place to play, and I'm just happy we came here and won tonight."
 
Down by three at the half, the Hounds hung 49 points on the board in the second stanza.  Robinson scored 17 of his game-high 19 points after the break, while Cheatham added 12 second-half points to total 17.
 
The game featured 10 ties and a whopping 19 lead changes.  Bellarmine clung to a four-point lead with two-and-a-half minutes left, but a late scoring salvo from junior Brennan McElroy erased the deficit.  The Decatur, Ill., native drained his first 3-pointer of the year, then followed with a conventional three-point play to knot it a 77-77 with 1:53 to go.
 
From that point, the UIndy defense got a couple of huge stops, while Lelend Brown and Robinson each knocked down a pair of free throws at the other end.
 
Bellarmine's Keisten Jones managed a buzzer-beating jumper, but with a two-possession lead, the Hounds gladly conceded the bucket and pocketed the "W."

The road trip brings another stiff challenge for the Hounds as UIndy travels west on I-64 to No. 10 Southern Indiana.  Tip time from Evansville, Ind., is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. ET Saturday evening.

 
Notes: Avery Harmon got his first start of the season, hitting a pair of threes in a process … Jared Grady drew two charges within a two-minute span late in the first half … Last year, UIndy defeated the Knights on their home floor, snapping their 29-game home winning streak.