SOMERS, Wis. – The UIndy men's basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Midwest Regional Saturday with a convincing 77-60 victory over No. 12 Ashland in DeSimone Gymnasium on Wisconsin-Parkside's campus.

UIndy (21-7) led from wire to wire, and avenged its regular season loss to the Eagles (25-6) back on Nov. 14. Seniors Jordan Loyd and Joe Retic each finished with 21 points to lead the Hounds' attack, and as a team they stifled the nationally-ranked Eagles defensively.

Ashland's 60 points were the second-fewest of any Greyhound opponent, and far from the 78.8 points-per-game average UIndy has surrendered this season. The Eagles finished just 37 percent from the floor, and 4 of 21 (.019) from long range.

The Greyhounds came out about as well as Head Coach Stan Gouard could have hoped, executing at a high level right from the opening tip. UIndy raced out to a double digit lead less than five minutes into the game, and led 20-4 following a 3-pointer from Alex Etherington just under the 14-minute mark.

Even when the Eagles managed to string a 6-0 run together, the Hounds answered with an 8-0 flurry of their own to climb back ahead by 16, 30-14.

UIndy managed to head into the half ahead 39-25, having shot a remarkable 15 of 17 from inside the 3-point arc. After being outrebounded 42-29 in the November loss, the Hounds held a sizeable 18-9 rebound advantage after 20 minutes Saturday.

"We came out really hot today," Retic noted afterward. He led the Hounds with 12 first-half points. "We were motivated for the game, knowing earlier in the year (Ashland) got us. That gave us a lot of motivation all week preparing for them, and we came out today and handled our business."

The second half looked like a heavyweight title fight, with hardwood in place of the canvas mat and momentous buckets delivering the blows instead of boxing gloves.

There was little doubt the nationally-ranked Eagles would climb back into the game, and out of the break they used a 16-8 run to make it a six point game, 47-41, near the 15-minute mark.

But the Hounds kept swinging, too, and shortly after reeled off an 8-0 run – capped by a corner 3-pointer from Eric Davidson – forcing the Eagles' John Ellenwood to call a timeout trailing 61-45.

The rest of the game was much of the same: one hard-fought sequence after another, where every rebound was heavily contested and each basket swung momentum back and forth.

When asked about one 14-4 second-half run in particular, Loyd credited his team's ability to rebound and limit Ashland's chances to score.

"A lot of it started with our rebounding," Loyd said. "The first game we played (against Ashland) they killed us on the boards. I take my hat off to Ernest Maize, he did a great job rebounding."

In the end, the lead UIndy built up was too much for the Eagles to overcome, and when the clock hit zeroes it was the sixth-seeded Greyhounds moving on to the second round.

UIndy finished with a 39-28 margin on the boards, led by 10 apiece from Loyd and Maize.

Loyd's 21-point, 10-rebound double-double is his fourth of the season. Retic matched Loyd with 21, many of which came during UIndy's stellar opening period. He finished 8 of 14 from the floor, adding seven boards and four assists in 32 minutes.

Senior Tyler Rambo tallied 12 and a pair of assists, and classmate Lucas Barker added six points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

"I'm very confident in us," Retic said. "The way we played today shows how far we can go in the tournament. I really trust our coaches and I trust my teammates, and I feel like we can do something special."

With the victory, Gouard earned his 150th win as the UIndy head man. He's now just one behind Todd Sturgeon (1997-2007) for third most in program history.

UIndy next faces seven-seed Ferris State, and will tip-off the second round tomorrow (Sunday) at 6 p.m. ET.