INDIANAPOLIS – It took over 14 minutes before the UIndy men's basketball team took the lead on Thursday night, but the Greyhounds overcame a 9-0 deficit to cruise to their first victory since Nov. 30 against Bluefield State, 91-74. It was the first game between the schools' in each program's history. The Greyhounds are now 6-3 on the season. 
 
Trevor Lakes drilled three trey-balls to begin the second half for the Hounds, which were three of his six made long balls all evening. The true freshman led all scorers with 21 points with a career-best seven three-pointers and five rebounds, while Alex Etherington posted 17 points and a career-high eight assists. Tate Hall (18), Jesse Kempson (11), and Eric Davidson (10) also reached double figures. Hall set a new career-high with six steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The visiting Big Blues jumped out to a 9-0 start, forcing a pair of turnovers along the way before the Hounds clawed back. UIndy scored seven of the next nine points, with points from Lakes, Hall, and Jabree Bond-Flournoy, and took its first lead at the 5:30 mark of the half with a couple made free throws by Hall. Davidson made his first three-pointer of the night soon after to extend the Greyhound lead and Roderick Davis contributed a spin-move hook shot to give the team a seven-point lead. A layup by Devin Dixon with 37 seconds left put the Hounds up four, but the Big Blues nailed a long ball with less than 10 seconds remaining in the opening session to head into the break down a point. 

After committing eight turnovers in the first half, the Greyhounds coughed it up just twice in the final frame. Lakes scored 12 of his 21 points in the second half en route to the Hounds putting up 54, thanks to shooting 62.5 percent from the field. The true freshman made his first three of the second period for UIndy, getting assists from Davidson and Hall. Etherington dished out five dimes in a six-minute span to mark a new career-high of eight in the contest. A layup by Bond-Flournoy with under two minutes left gave the Hounds their largest lead of the game at a 19-point advantage,  but the Big Blues netted another basket to give UIndy the 17-point victory. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
After breaking a program record earlier in the season against Tiffin for the best perfect game from behind the arc (six-for-six), freshman Trevor Lakes set a new career-best with seven long balls on the evening. The Lebanon, Ind. native was seven-for-12 in the win, and is now 23-for-39 through nine games in his rookie campaign. 

Alex Etherington also set a career-high against Bluefield State with eight dimes, while also contributing 17 points and six rebounds. Playing with an all-around game, the senior failed to turn the ball over. 

Not to be outdone, sophomore Tate Hall set a new career-best with six steals on Thursday, his most since his seventh-career game, which came at Lewis on Dec. 3, 2016. The reigning GLVC Freshman of the Year is now averaging 13.3 ppg after his 18-point effort this evening. 

The Hounds have scored 90 or more points in four of their first nine games this season, the first time the team has done so since the 2012-13 season.  

HOUND BYTES
Head coach Stan Gouard: "I told these guys they didn't respect the game. They didn't come out and take Bluefield State seriously. We were setting ourselves up just like we did against Lewis. We responded the second half; we made shots. Our defense wasn't up to par; with a team like this, they do a good job of getting to the paint."

"It's great having a number of guys that can contribute. I felt like everyone stepped up tonight and contributed. We did a great job of finding Trevor, especially in transition. Once they dropped back into a zone, we got the ball in the middle like we talked about, and were able to kick it back out for an open look."

"Not to be overshadowed: Alex Etherington had a great stat line. Eight assists, no turnovers, six rebounds; Alex has been a guy who has been struggling with his shot, and I told him a couple games ago he's still impacting the game in other ways and now he's found his niche."

UP NEXT
The Hounds will try to rode tonight's momentum into Saturday with a neutral site game against Salem International in Danville, Ill. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST at Danville Area Community College.