INDIANAPOLIS – Using a sharp offensive attack, UIndy men's basketball earned a vital 81-69 victory over Lewis Thursday night in Nicoson Hall.
The Greyhounds shot nearly 57 percent (34-60) as a team from the field, improving to 15-9 overall and 12-4 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action. The win keeps the Hounds in the driver's seat for a GLVC Championship Tournament first-round bye, and adds to their NCAA Tournament resume.
"Getting this win is huge," Assistant Coach
George Hemmingsen told WICR afterward. "We know just how important it is to get that first round bye in the conference tournament, and this gets us one step closer.
"We've got Wisconsin-Parkside coming (Saturday)Â and that's another one we're going to have to be ready for to not only better improve our standing in the league, but to try and inch closer to those regional rankings."
It also avenged UIndy's 75-70 loss at Lewis back on Dec. 1, snapping the Flyers' three-game winning streak over the Crimson and Grey.
The visiting Flyers (16-10, 11-5) got off to a hot start, however, taking a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
"The last few games we've gotten off to some really bad starts, and we've been emphasizing how important it is to get off to a good start. We hit a snag but after we called an early timeout, we came out and started defending and got back to playing the way we want to."
UIndy responded with a 9-1 run after the first media break, taking its first lead of the game, and later reeled off a 13-5 spurt that featured a pair 3-pointers from junior
Alex Etherington and another from
Eric Davidson.
The Hounds eventually took their first double-digit lead of the game when sophomore
Jesse Kempson laid in a basket with 2:33 remaining, making it 41-31.
UIndy carried that margin into the half, leading 44-34 after 20 minutes of action. The Hounds shot nearly 57 percent (17-30) from the field, scoring exactly half their points in the paint.
Much like they did to start the game, the Flyers shot out of the gate in the second period with a 6-0 run. The Hounds eventually squashed the run, and used a pair of 7-0 runs within minutes of each other as their lead swelled back to double figures.
UIndy's defense was absolutely stifling at times in the second half, most notably during the first of those 7-0 stretches in which the Hounds recorded four steals in under 120 seconds.
The Greyhounds used that defense to manufacture buckets on the other end of the court, most notably when freshman
Micah Rosser threw down a highlight-worthy slam following an
Ajay Lawton steal.
Rosser's flush lifted the Greyhound faithful to their feet, and gave UIndy its biggest lead of the night, 66-52.
Lewis would trim the deficit back to single digits, but never truly threatened down the stretch as the Hounds walked off the court with a crucial victory for both the conference and regional landscape.
Four Hounds finished in double figures, led by Davidson's 17 on 6 of 7 shooting (3-3 from deep). Sophomore
Jimmy King added 16 points, seven assists, five boards and a pair of steals in 36 minutes.
"Jimmy has been extremely consistent over the last month, and we're not shy about turning the keys over to him," Hemmingsen noted. "He's done a great job leading the team in all aspects."
Kempson totaled 15 points, a game-high eight rebounds and two blocks, moving within one rejection of the single-season record, held by Joe Lawson (2014-15). Etherington finished with 14 points, two assists, a block and a steal.
Lawton was the primary instigator on defense, racking up five of UIndy's nine steals to go with nine points, six assists and four rebounds.
UIndy scored a remarkable 50 points in the paint, 20 points off of turnovers and 13 in fast break, and recorded assists on 20 of its 34 field goals.
The Hounds' significant stretch continues Saturday when they host Wisconsin-Parkside for a 3:15 p.m. ET tip. The Rangers, who defeated UIndy 63-61 back on Dec. 3, were No. 6 in the first NCAA Regional Rankings released earlier this week.
Notes: Tonight's win marked Stan Gouard's 100th career GLVC victory.
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