UIndy Greyhounds vs. Bluefield State College
Thursday, Dec. 14, 8:00 p.m. ET, Nicoson Hall

UIndy Greyhounds vs. Salem International University, at Danville Area Community College
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2:00  p.m. ET, Danville, Ill.

ON TAP
The UIndy men's basketball team continues its break from GLVC action before the new year with a pair of games against NCAA Division II institutions from West Virginia. The Hounds will meet the Bluefield State Big Blues for the teams' first meeting against each other on Thursday before UIndy takes on Salem International on Saturday in Danville, Ill. 

A NEW BEGINNING (vs. Bluefield State) 
Thursday will mark the first game between UIndy and Bluefield State. The Big Blues are scheduled to play Kentucky Wesleyan on Wednesday ahead of the contest with the Greyhounds. Bluefield enters Wednesday's contest with a 3-5 record, but the team has lost five of its last six games after winning the first two contests of the season. Their wins include: Lincoln (Pa.), Concord, and The Apprentice School.

Korey Williams is averaging 19.9 ppg for the Big Blues, which leads the team. The junior is also recording 3.0 rpg and 3.0 apg. Senior Shawn Duhon ranks second on the team with 15.5 ppg, but leads the Big Blues on the glass with 7.5 rpg. Duhon averages 2.6 bpg, continuing to be a force in the paint. 

TALKING ABOUT THE TIGERS (vs. Salem International)
The Hounds and Tigers have met just once in the teams' history, with UIndy reigning victorious nearly nine years ago, 84-57. Keith Radcliff led the Hounds with 23 points, while Russell Allen and Braxton Mills each pulled down six rebounds. Four players scored in double figures as the team shot nearly 51 percent from the field, including 11-for-26 from three-point range.

The Hounds and Tigers have played two common opponents, Kentucky State and Tiffin. Salem defeated Kentucky State in the season opener before dropping another close contest on Dec. 6. The Tigers also pulled out an 11-point victory over Tiffin on Nov. 18 in Salem. Malik Toppin and Reggie Oliver have been scoring machines for the Tigers through nine games this season, both averaging more than 21 points per contest. Toppin also leads the team in rebounds with 10.8 per game and has also chipped in just more than two blocks per game. Oliver is dishing out 6.2 assists per contest, while also making 31 three-pointers, leading the team. 
 
LAST TIME OUT (at Indiana State)
The Hounds led 4-3 early in the game after a pair of layups by Tate Hall and Jesse Kempson. The Indiana State lead grew to as much as eight points at 34-26 with 5:11 remaining in the opening half. Eric Davidson scored six of the team's next 12 points, including a three-pointer, while Roderick David and CJ Hardaway Jr. added on some tallies to even the game at 38-38 just before the break. A free throw by the Sycamores gave them back the lead with 33 seconds left, which would hold as the halftime score.
 
A long ball by Alex Etherington four minutes into the second half gave the Greyhounds a 48-47 lead, which would hold until for 12 minutes. Trevor Lakes scored eight straight points for UIndy, including a pair of three-pointers to stretch the lead to seven and a Davidson jumper increased it to a game-high nine points. Indiana State fought back, getting back within a point with 8:12 on the clock and stayed within four until it re-gained the lead with 2:35 remaining. Hall tied the game with two free throws soon after, but the Sycamores ran away at the end to win, 79-75, as the final horn sounded.
 
The Hounds lost the rebound battle, but pulled down more defensive boards in the loss. Hardaway Jr. led all players with nine rebounds, while Devin Dixon finished with eight. It is the third time this season the Indianapolis native has recorded at least nine boards, with the last time coming at Wisconsin-Parkside in the GLVC opener.
 
UIndy went 15-for-17 from the free-throw line, with Hall (six-for-six), Hardaway Jr. (five-for-five), and Davidson (one-for-one) all being perfect from the charity stripe. On the other side, the Sycamores attempted 33 free throws, making 20.
 
Lakes' four-for-seven effort from behind the arc is the third time this season the freshman has drilled that many three-pointers in a game this season. Davidson was three-for-seven from long range, while Etherington hit the other three for the Hounds.

THREE-POINT MAGIC
The Hounds are ninth in all of NCAA Division II in three-point percentage with a hefty 44.4 mark from deep this season. The Hounds are just behind Drury, which is ranked sixth in the country in the category, among GLVC schools. Eric Davidson leads the Greyhounds at 51.2 percent (22-for-43), while Trevor Lakes is shooting nearly 60 percent from behind the arc. 

SEEING SOME TIME
Jabree Bond-Flournoy and Kylen Butler combined for 18 minutes in the exhibition game last Saturday at Indiana State after totaling 21 in the team's first eight regular season games. Butler scored two points and grabbed a couple rebounds in the team's four-point loss to the Sycamores. 

SPRINTING OUT OF THE GATE
The Hounds have led at halftime in each of their first eight games this season, with close losses against Northwood, Southern Indiana, and Lewis. The first two losses of the season - Northwood and Southern Indiana - were by a combined eight points, while the setback at Lewis came in overtime. 

AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
Eric Davidson leads the country in free-throw percentage, as he is a perfect 24-for-24. The senior is one of three players in NCAA Division II that has sunk each of his attempted free throws.

Davidson is 19th in three-point percentage at 51.2 percent. Trevor Lakes (16-for-27) and Tate Hall (nine-for-17) are also making more than half their attempts from behind the arc, but do not meet the minimum requirement of 2.5 made three-pointers per game. Jesse Kempson and Ajay Lawton have both made 44.4 percent of their attempted long balls, which is exactly what the team is shooting this season.

Lawton's 5.2 assists per game would rank 48th in the country, however, the senior does not meet the national requirement of having played in 75 percent of the team's contests.