VALPARAISO, Ind. – After taking fans on a whirlwind ride to the program's first-ever NCAA "Sweet 16" a season ago, the UIndy men's basketball squad wasted little time pulling out the theatrics for the new 2015-16 campaign.

Facing outside competition for the first time since its preseason trip to Canada, the UIndy men's basketball took the floor Tuesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center against Division I Valparaiso, falling 75-67.

After sophomore Eric Davidson coaxed a midrange jumper in with 32.5 seconds left, the Hounds trailed just 70-67, capping a remarkable second half that saw the visitors erase an early 14-point deficit.

But the Crusaders – who returned over 98-percent of their scoring and rebounding from last year's squad that won the Horizon League title – proved too much for the new-look Hounds, who sport nine newbies. Valpo closed with a 5-0 run, sinking all of its free throw attempts down the stretch to fend off the Hounds.

"I'm really happy with our effort," Eighth-year Head Coach Stan Gouard told WICR following the game. "One of the things we talked about in pregame was making mistakes and playing hard, and we made a lot of mistakes tonight, but we played hard and competed."

Gouard commented on the final possessions of the game: "We were right there down the stretch and made some very bad plays on both end of the court, that's why you play these games as kind of a warmup prior to the regular season. You have to compete at a high level, and I thought we did that tonight for about 35 minutes."

Five Greyhounds finished the game in double figures, led by 14 apiece from seniors Jordan Loyd and Tyler Rambo. Davidson totaled 13 points on 3-for-5 shooting from 3-point range, senior Lucas Barker tallied 11 points and freshman Jesse Kempson had 11.

Crusader big man Alec Peters led all players with 34 points, knocking down 12 of his 15 free throws.

At times, the Greyhound offense showed flashes of its prolific potential in the opening frame – seen during the 9-3 run early in the first half to tie the game at 13 apiece. Kempson contributed five points to the effort, including a three-pointer.

On other occasions the Hound attack fell stagnant, as the numerous newcomers and returners tried to shake off the offseason rust against a tough foe. A 1-for-11 stretch later in the same period allowed the host Crusaders' lead to swell to 35-21 – their biggest of the night to that point.

Using their size, the Crusaders showed a formidable presence in the post on both ends in the opening half. They totaled 18 points in the paint, 10 second-chance points and seven blocks.

UIndy shot an even 40-percent (4-10) from long range in the first 20 minutes, but only 2-for-21 (9.5%) from two-point land, and went into the half down 39-28.

In the second half the Greyhounds came out and went back-and-forth with their D-I opponents, grinding out possessions and pulling within 55-52 at the 9:12 mark. But UIndy missed four triples in a 90-second stretch, allowing Valpo to quickly build the lead back to double digits.

UIndy wasn't within one possession until Davidson got his jumper to fall with about 30 seconds remaining.

The Hounds went just 2-for-15 from long range in the second, finishing the game 6-for-25 (.240). They shot slightly over 31-percent overall from the floor, compared to Valpo's 40-percent mark.

UIndy also showed an improvement dow low in the second half, topping Valpo 20-18 in points in the paint while allowing only four second-chance points off of five Crusader offensive rebounds.

Loyd paced the Hounds with 11 boards, followed by Rambo's seven. Barker unsurprisingly led the way with seven assists, adding five rebounds and a pair of steals. Junior Andrej Slavik finished with five rebounds, two blocks and two steal in 18 minutes.

The Greyhounds have one final exhibition remaining, as they'll meet Auburn Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at Auburn Arena.