SOMERS, Wis. – The UIndy men's basketball team won their fifth consecutive game on Thursday evening, a 62-52 victory over GLVC East rival Wisconsin-Parkside from DeSimone Gymnasium. Jesse Kempson led all scorers with 22 points, while CJ Hardaway Jr. tallied 16 points and nine rebounds. Tate Hall contributed 14 points on the evening, while also dishing out three dimes.
 
Hardaway Jr. led the team with four assists, while Alex Etherington and Hall each grabbed down seven boards. The Hounds led dominated on the glass, grabbing 39 rebounds compared to the Rangers' 24. UIndy had six players with at least four rebounds, as Kempson along with Eric Davidson and Roderick Davis totaled four.
 
The win improves the Hounds to 5-1 this season and 1-0 in GLVC play. UIndy is now on a five-game winning streak.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Greyhounds jumped out to a 9-0 start, seven of the points coming from Kempson. The Rangers went on a 10-4 run before Hall drilled a three-pointer to stop the momentum by the hosts. Another jumper by Hall grew the Greyhound lead to 14 with nearly four minutes left in the first half, which increased by another point with under a minute remaining for the Hounds' largest lead of the game.
 
Davidson finally got in the scoring column with a three-ball with under 10 minutes left in the second half to get the UIndy advantage back to nine. The Rangers clawed to a four-point deficit a few minutes later before the senior hit another three-pointer to silence the Parkside crowd. The Rangers failed to back down, pulling within three at the final media timeout. Kempson sparked a small 6-0 run to put the pressure on the Rangers, which they would eventually succumb to as the Hounds had the 62-52 advantage at the final buzzer.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Kempson scored 20 or more points four times a season ago, with tonight's 22-spot being the third-highest mark of his career. His 10-for-12 shooting is the best percentage the junior has shot with at least 10 attempts from the field.
 
Hardaway Jr.'s 16 tallies marks the fourth straight game the junior has reached double-digits, averaging 12 points each game over that stretch. His nine rebounds against the Rangers now gives him a team-leading 34 boards on the season, which is good for nearly six per game.
 
Hall drew his first start since the season opener against Northwood, who is now averaging 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds over the last five games after his 14 and seven effort, respectively, tonight.
 
Etherington's seven rebounds tonight is the 10th time in his career that he has recorded at least that many in a game. The junior had seven boards six times a season ago, while recording eight twice, and nine once.
 
UP NEXT
The Hounds continue GLVC play with a Saturday tilt against Southern Indiana. Tip is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. from Nicoson Hall.
 
Southern Indiana edged Lewis in overtime, 84-75, tonight in the teams' first conference contest of the 2017-18 campaign. The Screaming Eagles are now 6-2 on the season.