SOMERS, Wis. – A late burst from a shorthanded UIndy men's basketball team couldn't make up for a stagnant second-half performance Thursday night, as the Greyhounds fell 63-61 at Wisconsin-Parkside to begin Great Lakes Valley Conference action.

Down by two in the closing seconds of the contest, UIndy junior D.J. Davis' potential game-tying bucket touched nearly every inch of the rim before rattling out. His near miss was the final shot of a second half that saw the Greyhounds (2-4, 0-1 GLVC) shoot just 30 percent (9-for-30) overall while missing all eight attempts from 3-point range.

The Hounds, who were without regulars Eric Davidson and Ajay Lawton, led for two-thirds of the contest. But they were especially doomed by a 22-8 run from the Rangers (5-1, 1-0), which covered more than 12 minutes of game clock in the second half.

"We're never happy with a loss, but our guys gave a lot of effort tonight," Associate Head Coach Paul Corsaro told WICR afterward. "I commended our guys for the way they handled adversity, not having everyone here."

After a back and forth volley to open the game, the Greyhounds used a 12-0 run – capped by a 3-pointer in transition from junior Alex Etherington – to grab a 17-8 lead at the 12:53 mark. Big man Milos Cabarkapa provided five points during the run.

The hosts bounced back, using a 9-0 run of their own to pull even at 26-26 by the under-eight media break. But UIndy's D. Davis stopped the run with a jumper in the lane, sparking a 9-1 Greyhound spurt over the next two-plus minutes to put the visitors back in control.

UIndy went into the half leading 41-38, shooting over 58 percent (17 of 29) from the floor. Jesse Kempson's nine points at the intermission led a balanced Greyhound attack across the opening 20 minutes.

Wisconsin-Parkside was ice cold out of the break, starting 0-for-7 from the floor to open the second period. During that cold spell, D. Davis drove down the lane and delivered an emphatic dunk to make it 47-39 UIndy by the first media.

The game turned when Jake Verhagen finally netted the Rangers' first field goal of the half more than five minutes in, marking the beginning of that lengthy 22-8 Parkside run. Led by Verhagen and Alexander Brown, Parkside stormed back to take its first lead since the early stages of the game, 56-55, by the under-eight media timeout.

UIndy, which hit only 4 of 17 during the game-deciding stretch, didn't go away. Down by as much as six late, a traditional 3-point play from D. Davis with 80 seconds left brought the Hounds within 63-61, but those would prove to be the final points of the game.

The Hounds finished just 3-for-16 (19%) from long range and 6-for-11 (55%) from the free throw line, but also put together perhaps their best defensive performance of the young season by limiting Parkside to a 38 percent shooting effort overall (32% from 3-point). The Rangers entered Thursday averaging 80 points per game.

"I'd say this was our best defensive effort so far," Corsaro said. "But the bottom line is we didn't convert down the stretch."

D. Davis finished with 15 points, four assists, four steals and three boards while playing 39 minutes for the Greyhounds.

Sophomores Kempson and Jimmy King had 10 points apiece, and three individuals (Kempson, Etherington and Tate Hall) finished with seven rebounds.

The Hounds return to action Saturday at Lewis, tipping off from Neil Carey Arena at 4 p.m. ET.