No. 4 UIndy Greyhounds (19-9) vs. No. 5 Drury Panthers (19-10)
Thursday, Mar. 7, 1:00 p.m. ET, Edwardsville, Ill.

ON TAP
The UIndy men's basketball team returns to the GLVC Championship Tournament for the 10th straight season under head coach Stan Gouard. It will be the second meeting between the Greyhounds and Panthers during conference postseason action, with Drury getting the upperhand on March 7, 2013 by the score of 77-73. 

Thursday marks the six-year anniversary of the meeting, as Drury went on to cap off a 23-game winning streak to end the 2012-13 season with a national championship. 

ABOUT DRURY
The Panthers are one of the hottest teams in the league as of late, having now won 10 straight games heading into the GLVC Championship Tournament. Over that span, Drury has picked up wins over Southern Indiana, Truman, and Missouri-St. Louis (twice). 

Sophomore Conley Garrison leads Drury in scoring with 17.7 points per game this season, along with 4.9 assists per contest. Garrison was named to the All-GLVC First Team on Wednesday morning, a season after earning All-Freshman recognition. 

Allen Billinger and Andrew Blalock are also scoring in double figures in 2018-19, combining for 20.8 points. Billinger is hitting nearly 43 percent of his attempts from 3-point range, while Blalock leads the team on the glass with 5.3 boards per game. 

The Panthers ranked second in scoring defense during the regular season, allowing just 67.1 points per league game, as well as second in field-goal percentage at 51.4 percent. Drury greater than 40 percent from 3-point range this season, and are dishing out 20 assists per game. 

Head coach Steve Hesser is in his 15th season at Drury.

ALL-GLVC HONORS
Four Greyhounds were named to the All-GLVC squads that were released on Wednesday morning, marking the first time since 2017 that four have been selected by the league coaches. 

It is the second time in Jimmy King's career that the Indianapolis native has been recognized by the conference, while Trevor Lakes earns the first all-conference selection in his career. Senior Jesse Kempson also made the all-league second team for the second time in his career, while fellow senior CJ Hardaway earned All-Defensive team honors in his final season.

King was selected to the first team after ranking second in assists/game, third in assist-to-turnover ratio, and 10th in minutes played this season in GLVC contests. The junior is tied for ninth in program history with 342 assists, and is just 11 helpers from tying former teammate Lucas Barker for eighth. 

This season, the UIndy point guard averaged 11.5 points and 6.1 assists in 18 league games, adding 4.1 rebounds per contest. King directed an offense that scored 77.0 points per game, which ranked fifth in the GLVC. 

Kempson averaged 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 18 GLVC contests this season, while also recording 14 blocks. The Indianapolis native shot 53.6 percent from the floor in conference play, which ranks 12th this season. Kempson has recorded six double-doubles so far this season.

The 6-7 forward has scored 1,160 career points and has grabbed 551 career rebounds, ranking 29th and 20th, respectively, in program history. Kempson is 16 points from tying Darius Adams in scoring.

Lakes is well on his way etching his name in the UIndy program record book, sinking 83 from 3-point range this season for ninth-best in a single season. His 160 deep balls is 16th all-time for a Hounds, and is just six from entering the top-10. 

The Lebanon, Ind. product led the Greyhounds in scoring this season, averaging 14.0 points per game, while adding 5.5 rebounds. The sophomore has also blocked 17 opponent's shots this year.

Hardaway earns All-GLVC recognition for the second time in his career, as the Indianapolis native earned all-league second-team honors as a sophomore in 2016-17. This is the first All-Defensive accolade for the senior guard, representing UIndy for the seventh straight season on the list. 

Since the inception of the All-GLVC Defensive squad, at least one Greyhound has been recognized as one of the top defensive players in the conference. Most recently, Ajay Lawton earned all-league honors as a junior and senior in 2016-17 and 2017-18. 

SEAT AT THE TABLE
The Greyhounds are ranked sixth in the final edition of the Division II Midwest Regional rankings, the NCAA released last Wednesday. The Division II committee will announce its field of 64 this Sunday at 10:30 p.m. 

Eight teams from each of the eight regions will advance to the NCAA tournament, which is scheduled to begin on March 16 from the campus of the top seeds. 

LAST TIME OUT
It took a pair of late free throws to seal the win, but the UIndy men's basketball team escaped with a 71-70 win at Drury back on January 10. 
 
During the second half, senior Jesse Kempson became the 41st player in program history to record 1,000 career points in a Greyhound uniform.

Trevor Lakes scored the first 15 points of the night for the Greyhounds, drilling five-of-six from behind the three-point arc. In 16 minutes of action off the bench, Marcus Latham provided a spark for UIndy, contributing seven points in the first half as the visitors led by two at the break.
 
The Hounds never trailed in the half until there were eight seconds remaining when a three-ball went through the net to give Drury a one-point advantage. After a timeout, UIndy drove down the floor with Jimmy King drawing a foul to head to the charity stripe for two free throws. The junior point guard sunk the pair before the Panthers rimmed out on their attempt to beat the buzzer.

The win marked the first victory at Drury since 2007 for UIndy. The Hounds have now won three straight games against the Panthers, but Thursday marked the first time in five tries for the Crimson and Grey to earn a win in Springfield, Mo.

NO WAY(ER) OUT
Junior Miles Wayer has been red-hot from 3-point range, shooting 11-of-15 from deep over the past four games. The McCordsville, Ind. product hit four 3-pointers at Bellarmine and Truman, and has averaged 10.0 points/game over that stretch. 

TWO HUNDRED AND COUNTING
Head coach Stan Gouard reached 200 career wins with the Greyhounds' victory at Illinois Springfield on February 2. Gouard is just the second coach in program history to win at least 200 games, with Angus Nicoson totaling 483 victories during his tenure. 

This marks Gouard's 11th season at the helm of the program, making him the third-longest-tenured coach in program history. Good mentored for 15 seasons, while Nicoson coached the Hounds for more than 29 years.

HOMEGROWN HOUNDS
UIndy has seven players from the Indianapolis area, including three from within the city limits: CJ Hardaway (Warren Central), Jesse Kempson (Heritage Christian), and Jimmy King (Roncali). Hardaway and Kempson are two leading returners for the Greyhounds this season, combining for 20.9 points, 9.7 boards, and 3.4 assists per game a year ago. King returns for his redshirt-junior campaign after taking a medical redshirt last season.