EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The UIndy men's basketball (9-5, 3-3 GLVC) team couldn't hold the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles' offense and the visiting Greyhounds dropped its second game of the season against USI, 87-65, on Thursday evening from the Physical Activities Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles jumped out to an 8-2 run before Tate Hall hit a jumper just after the under-16 timeout early in the first half. Southern Indiana stretched the lead to 23-9 before UIndy went on an 8-2 run itself, with Jesse Kempson and CJ Hardaway Jr. trading baskets to get the Hounds back within single digits. The Eagles proved too much overall for the Greyhounds, gaining a 41-19 advantage with under a minute remaining in the opening frame, un-phased by the visitors' run. Ajay Lawton made a couple free throws with two seconds left in the first half and UIndy trailed, 41-21, at halftime.
 
After a stagnant offensive output in the first half, the Hounds scored 44 points in the final 20 minutes, but couldn't overcome the 20-point deficit. Lawton made the first UIndy field goal three minutes into the half, but the Hounds failed to score for over three-and-a-half minutes after, a period in which USI grew the advantage by five. A layup by Devin Dixon with 9:19 on the scoreboard put the Hounds back within 20 and consecutive layups by Hardaway Jr. and Eric Davidson gave the team its smallest deficit since the first half, but with only three minutes remaining it was too little too late as the Hounds fell, 87-65, at the final buzzer.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
After being held to just eight points in the win at Rockhurst last Saturday, Jesse Kempson recorded double figures with his 15-point effort. It is the 10th time this season the junior has totaled double digits, and the eighth time in nine games.
 
Jabree Bond-Flournoy recorded a season-high five points and three rebounds in his 12 minutes of action on Thursday, which matched a season-best as well. The senior sunk five-of-six throws from the charity stripe and pulled down two offensive boards in the loss.
 
The Hounds turned the ball just eight times on the evening, but only recorded five assists as a team. UIndy forced 11 USI turnovers, five of which were steals, but failed to contain the open shots and allowed 18 made field goals to have an assist.
 
Eric Davidson made all three of his free-throw attempts against the Eagles, and is now 42-for-43 on the season from the charity stripe. The senior leads all of NCAA Division II with his 97.7 percent mark from the free-throw line.
 
HOUND BYTES
Head coach Stan Gouard: "You got to give USI credit. They did a good job of making us shoot contested shots. Eric Davidson is a shooter and they got to him a little early and he couldn't really get into a rhythm. Once we faced that big deficit, we tried to shoot our way back into the basketball game and that's not how you play. We preach to make a conscious effort to get the ball inside or drive the basketball and not settle for [three-point shots] and we did that early in the second half. We got off to a very slow start and 21 points in the first half is unacceptable."
 
"Our second group, the group during the last two minutes, did everything right. We talked about help-side defense and those guys were in the right positions and they got in the passing lanes. They cared more; they value the three or four minutes they play. Jabree Bond-Flournoy, the smallest guy on the court, and three rebounds, two on the offensive end. We have to get these guys to compete the way he did. We have to hold each other accountable."
 
UP NEXT
The Greyhounds will look to avenge its early-season loss to Lewis this Saturday in Nicoson Hall. Tip is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. The Flyers dropped a low-scoring affair on Thursday to Bellarmine in Romeoville.