ST. LOUIS – The UIndy men's basketball (15-7, 9-5 GLVC) never led in regulation, but found a way to earn a 77-70 win in overtime on Thursday at Missouri-St. Louis (11-11, 6-7 GLVC). The Greyhounds dominated the paint, scoring 41 points on the block while limiting the Tritons to just 14.
Jesse Kempson had a huge night, pulling down a career-best 14 rebounds and scoring 22 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons scored seven points in the first 32 seconds, capitalizing on a pair of Greyhound turnovers. Missouri-St. Louis sunk five of its first seven three-point attempts, leading 27-11 midway through the half. The Hounds tried to fight their way back to get within striking distance late in the half, but was still down 36-16 before ending the half on a 12-3 run.
The bright spots in the first half were
Jesse Kempson and
Alex Etherington, combining for 18 of the team's 28 points and eight of the Hounds' 17 rebounds. At the break, UIndy committed eight turnovers, more than it did all of last game against Maryville.
The Greyhounds hung with the Tritons for the beginning of the second half and finally pushed within five after a Kempson three-pointer. However, the hosts grew that lead back to 11 when the under-eight timeout was called.
UIndy closed the second half on a 16-5 run, with
Tate Hall scoring seven of those for the Hounds.
Ajay Lawton sunk three free throws with under a minute remaining to knot the game at 67 apiece, but Missouri-St. Louis failed to score before the buzzer, forcing an overtime session.
The Hounds out-scored the Tritons, 10-3, in the final five minutes, clinching their second victory in overtime this season. Five scorers recorded points in the period, including
Eric Davidson, who scored on a layup and a free throw. The Greyhounds won, 77-70.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Jesse Kempson recorded his third double-double of the season on Thursday, scoring 22 points and pulling down 14 boards. The 14 rebounds is a career-high for the junior, who played 32 minutes off the bench.
Alex Etherington was another key part to the bench success for the Hounds, pouring in 14 of his own points and snagging five rebounds and two steals. It was the senior's most points in a game since Bluefield State on December 14.
The Tritons shot nine for 15 from three-point range in the first half, on pace for their best shooting performance on the season. The Hounds forced 11 turnovers in the second half overtime to put the pressure on Missouri-St. Louis, which just shot 32 percent from the field the final 25 minutes.
UIndy finished the game just three for 16 from long range, the second-fewest three-pointers the team has made in a contest this season. The team's 18.8 percent mark from deep is also the second-worst of the 2017-18 campaign. It was also the fourth-lowest field-goal percentage of the season, as the Greyhounds shot just 40.7 percent from the floor.
UP NEXT
The Greyhounds still sit in fifth place after winning their third game in a row, a first for the squad since it won that many consecutively since November 15-22.
UIndy has Saturday off, before continuing its road trip in Rolla, Mo. next Thursday at Missouri S&T. The Miners currently sit in 15th place in the GLVC.
