TIFFIN, Ohio – UIndy capped a successful weekend at the Tiffin Thanksgiving Tournament with a convincing 77-56 victory over the host Dragons in the event's finale.

The Greyhounds (4-2) and Dragons (3-2) each won their contests Friday night, setting up a Midwest Region showdown in the Gillmor Student Center on Tiffin's campus.

Saturday's affair was dominated by the Hounds for nearly the full 40 minutes, as Tiffin never once held a lead. UIndy finished over 46 percent (28-60) from the field, compared to the Dragons' 34 percent (21-62). The Greyhounds totaled a season-high 12 steals, as well, and finished with 20 points off of 15 TU turnovers.

"I'm really proud of the way our guys came in, we were really focused," UIndy head man Stan Gouard told WICR after the win. "Our walkthrough was probably the best walkthrough we've had all year, and that led over to a good basketball game."

The Greyhounds opened the game by shooting over 53 percent from the floor in the first half, going 17 for 32 overall and 5 of 11 from 3-point distance.

Tiffin stayed within striking range, however, in large part due to Tony Kynard, who came off the bench to score 16 of their first 21 points and sank all four of his 3-pointers.

UIndy went into the break leading 43-31 – its biggest halftime lead of the year – and continued to accelerate in the second half. The Hounds increased their lead at each media timeout, and reached their largest margin over any opponent this season when they led by 30 points with 4:32 on the clock.

The Hounds also kept Kynard from repeating his prolific first half, holding him to four points on 1-for-5 shooting with zero 3-point attempts. Kynard's success using ball screens forced Gouard's squad to make a necessary defensive change.

"(Kynard) stepped up and made some big shots," Gouard said. "At halftime we talked about it and made an adjustment because we started the game going under ball screens."

For the fourth game this season senior Jordan Loyd led the team with 25 points, shooting an efficient 9 for 14 while hitting 5 of 6 free throws. The Atlanta native also contributed six rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

"We just really wanted to emphasize moving the ball, not trying to be stagnant," Loyd said, following the game. "Moving the ball, sharing it, and just cutting harder, and the offense will open up itself."

Sophomore Alex Etherington was also an offensive force for the Hounds in Saturday's lopsided win, scoring a career-high 20 points on 7 of 12 shooting. He added four boards, three steals and an assist, as well.

"The past few games (Alex) has been thinking too much, he was very aggressive today," Gouard noted. "I told him last night in the game to start driving more, to score. He didn't do it last night, but tonight you saw the results. He drove it and scored the basketball and came out with a great night."

Loyd also weighed in on Etherington's breakout performance: "We're really so happy to see him putting points on the board and playing hard, because he's such a good player. Sometimes he's a little too hard on himself. It was good seeing him hit shots and being positive tonight."

Junior Ernest Maize had a solid second half, pulling in eight of his game-high 10 rebounds and scoring all six points in the final 20 minutes. Senior Lucas Barker had seven points, four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals while shadowing one of Tiffin's leading scorers, Andy Bachman, who finished with a scoreless 23 minutes.

The Greyhounds hope to roll their momentum into next week's games, as they open Great Lakes Valley Conference action hosting Wisconsin-Parkside (Dec. 3) and Lewis (Dec. 5) in Nicoson Hall.