SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The UIndy men's basketball team (15-5, 8-2 GLVC) continued to roll Saturday afternoon, earning a 86-76 road win at Illinois Springfield. The Greyhounds have now won four games in a row and eight of their last nine, with today's latest result giving Head Coach
Stan Gouard his 200th victory at UIndy.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Behind a career day from junior point guard
Jimmy King, the Greyhounds made the requisite plays down the stretch to pull away from the host Prairie Stars (13-8, 6-5). Leading by two with nine minutes to go, the Hounds orchestrated a fatal 15-6 run to earn a late double-digit advantage. King and
Trevor Lakes each sank a three during the surge, two of five 3-pointers for the Hounds in the second half.
All told, King racked up a career-high 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting, while stuffing the stat sheet with eight rebounds, seven assists and a block. Junior
Marcus Latham also set a career high in scoring with 24 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 performance at the foul line.
Senior
Jesse Kempson flirted with a double-double, recording 11 points and eight boards, while Lakes drained three triples – all in the second half – to also finish with 11 points.
Not lost in the action was Gouard's millstone coaching win. He becomes just the second men's basketball coach to reach 200 wins at UIndy, as he trails only
Angus Nicoson (483 wins) on the program's all-time list.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Latham hit six free throw attempts in the final minute to help keep the Stars at arm's length.
- The Hounds out-rebounded their hosts 44-35 to earn their third-highest rebounding total of the year.
- King scored nine of the team's first 11 points on the way to his career-high total.
- Latham is averaging a team-best 20.4 points over the last five games. The Alton, Ill., native has set a personal NCAA scoring high in each contest.
- UIndy is now 9-1 all-time versus UIS since first hooking up in 2004. Saturday's result also upped the Hounds' GLVC road record to a 4-1 on the season.
- UIS senior Vince Walker hit his 194th career 3-pointer Saturday, setting a new school record.
HOUNDS BYTES
Coach Gouard on his team's high number of assisted buckets…
"That makes us really tough to defend. We made some really good plays, especially in the pick-and-roll with
Jimmy King tonight, and Thursday night as well. He made some great decisions and our guys did a great job of executing the game plan, especially on the offensive end."
UP NEXT
The Greyhounds return to Indy for a four-game homestand, starting with a visit from Southern Indiana Thursday, Feb. 7.
