INDIANAPOLIS – A late 11-0 run from visiting Ashland was enough to spoil the UIndy men's basketball home and regular season opener Saturday night, as the Eagles won the regional contest 70-64 as part of the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge in Nicoson Hall.

After a Jesse Kempson dunk put the Greyhounds on top, 60-56, with 2:42 remaining, Ashland's Boo Osborne quickly hit a 3-pointer to spark a 11-0 run over two-plus minutes, in which the Eagles hit 6 of 8 free throws and forced three turnovers.

The deficit was too much for UIndy to overcome, and Ashland escaped with a 70-64 win to hand Head Coach Stan Gouard just his second home-opening loss of his nine-year career. The Eagles held the Hounds to under 40 percent shooting from the floor, including a meager 6 of 25 (.240) from 3-point distance.

"I saw no fight," Gouard told WICR, following the loss. "We go up by 10 points or more a couple of times and we quit playing. We quit executing on offense, not running plays all the way through and shooting too many threes."

The Hounds led 52-40 with 9:52 left, following their own 11-0 run that started with a Kempson 3-pointer and ended with Roderick Davis sinking a jumper.

But from that point until the final horn it was all Ashland, as the Eagles outscored the Greyhounds 30-12 over the final 9:43, limiting UIndy to a 4-for-15 shooting clip (1-for-7 from long range). Ashland also put up 21 of its 24 free throws during that span, sinking 17.

"We held them to 70 points, but the problem is they shot 24 free throws," Gouard lamented. "That means we can't guard. We're letting guys beat us and we're leaving our feet too much … I've got to give Ashland credit, they stuck to their game plan, and did some things that bothered us and we never adjusted."

Junior-transfer D.J. Davis led the team with 16 points in his Greyhound debut, connecting on six of 11 field goals while adding a pair of rebounds and an assist.

Sophomore Jesse Kempson, making his first career start for the Hounds, netted 15 points, five boards and two blocks.

Along with D.J. Davis and Kempson, making their first career regular season starts for the Hounds were sophomore Jimmy King (nine points, two assists) and junior Roderick Davis (eight points, two blocks). Also seeing action in a UIndy uniform for the first time Saturday were Ajay Lawton, Tate Hall, Milos Cabarkapa and Jalen Manumaleuga.

UIndy has a quick rebound before hosting Lake Erie Sunday at 6:45 p.m. to close out the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge.