INDIANAPOLIS – The ninth-ranked UIndy men's basketball team (19-2, 11-2 GLVC) earned a 77-50 win versus visiting Maryville Saturday afternoon.  The Greyhounds forced 22 turnovers for the second straight game, as senior Joe Lawson's 20 points led five Hounds in double figures.
 
The Saints (10-12, 5-8) actually matched UIndy's second-half shooting percentage of .500, but the Greyhounds got off 12 more shots.  Maryville mustered just 21 points while turning the ball over 14 times after the break.  Overall, the Hounds generated 31 points off Maryville turnovers.
 
Asked about his team's defensive intensity in the second half, UIndy head coach Stan Gouard admitted that he'd like to see that effort more often.
 
"I want to do that for 40 minutes," said the seventh-year head man," but we're slow starters.  I think we're slow on the offensive end, but the thing is we don't stop defending.
 
"We started off up 9-0 and let them back in it, and they hung around the rest of the half.  In the second half we just came out and exploded.  We sped them up, and we pressed them a lot more than I originally thought about doing, but once we started doing that it created steals and easy buckets for us."
 
The Hounds raced out of the gate by scoring the game's first nine points.  The early flurry included three straight post feeds to Lawson, who finished the half with 16 points.
 
The Saints came back to gain their only lead of the game at 18-17, but a corner three from freshman reserve Eric Davidson squashed the notion. 
 
Averaging just eight minutes per team game heading into the weekend, Davidson continued to be a sniper for the Hounds Saturday.  The Fishers, Ind., native drained four triples in the first half, including a buzzer beater that gave the home team a 38-29 edge at the break.  His 12 points on the afternoon were good for a personal high, as were his three steals.
 
"I tell all of our guys that every game you have to be ready when your number's called because you never know," said Gouard when asked about Davidson's performance.  "Eric answered the bell early and gave use a first-half spark that I'm sure (Maryville) wasn't prepared for."
 
The Saints got a 3-pointer from Armon Provo 30 seconds into the final period, but the visitors were held scoreless for the next five-and-a-half minutes.  Meanwhile, the Hounds put up 13 unanswered points to break it open.  The highlight came on a lop play from Lucas Barker to Brennan McElroy to give the Hounds a 19-point cushion.
 
The Greyhounds continued to up the margin, thanks to some more cold-blooded shooting.  Senior Kendall Vieke and junior Jordan Loyd combined for five treys in the second half.  Both shot 50 percent from behind the arc on the day.
 
Back-to-back dunks from Dai-Jon Parker upped the lead to 35 points with five minutes left.  Gouard emptied his bench shortly thereafter as the Hounds cruised to the 27-point win.
 
Lawson finished 8 of 10 from the floor while adding eight rebounds to his game-high 20 points.  McElroy added 12 points and six boards, Barker compiled 10 assists and seven rebounds, and Loyd amassed 11 points and three steals.
 
Parker had 11 points, four assists and seven steals, with the latter stat one shy of tying the school record.
 
The Greyhounds will not play in front of the home crowd again until the end of the month.  A four-game road swing starts at Quincy Thursday, Feb. 12, and ends at fifth-ranked Saturday, Bellarmine Feb. 21.
 
 
Notes: At halftime, the university introduced its 2015 UIndy Athletics Hall of Fame class … Maryville's top assistant, Collin Lanam, spent four seasons on Coach Gouard's staff (2009-13) … The teams combined for just 20 free throw attempts, lowest in a UIndy game this season.  Conversely, Thursday's meeting with Missouri-St. Louis featured 60 total foul shots ... Today's attendance at Nicoson Hall was announced at 2,530.