UIndy Athletics

INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy men's basketball team (1-0) authored an impressive start to its 2022-23 campaign, routing Ohio Dominican (0-1) by a final score of 81-39 in Nicoson Hall on Friday night.
 
Five Greyhounds scored in double figures, while UIndy limited the visiting Panthers to the lowest point total by a season-opening opponent in 77 years.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hounds knocked the wheels off the wagon midway through the second half, with the first of Sean Craig's three triples starting a massive 22-0 run that lasted five-and-a-half minutes to build a 70-35 lead. Newcomer Jarvis Walker also chipped in during the stretch, scoring five of his 10 second-half points while adding a pair of steals.
 
UIndy completely dominated the final 20 minutes, forcing 12 second-half turnovers and scoring 15 off the ODU mishaps. The Greyhounds outrebounded the Panthers, 48-33, in the win, with Jakobie Robinson leading the team with nine.
 
In all, the Greyhounds smothered the Panthers on the defensive end, holding the visitors to just 23.2 percent shooting from the field and 25.7 percent from 3-point range. UIndy drilled 53.1 percent of its own shots in the second half – and 45.3 percent for the game – with Jesse Bingham and Kendrick Tchoua each scoring 14. Ben Nicoson joined his teammates in double figures, finishing with 10 points, four boards, and two assists.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Panthers' 39 points is the least amount a UIndy men's basketball team has surrendered in a season opener since 1945 against Taylor. The Hounds held Lake Erie, who visits Nicoson Hall on Sunday, to just 47 points in last season's debut.
- Six Greyhounds made at least one 3-pointer in the victory, including junior transfer David Ejah. The Fort Wayne native also snagged six rebounds in 16+ minutes of action.
- Tchoua led UIndy with three of the team's 10 offensive boards, finishing with seven in total. The junior also went 6-of-8 from the field, while recording three steals.
- The Hounds scored 49 second-half points compared to the Panthers' 16. Ohio Dominican made only four field goals after halftime, all coming from beyond the arc.
 
HOUND BYTES
Head coach Paul Corsaro: "I've been around a lot of wins and I've never been around a bad one. It's always nice to open the season the right way. Everyone that played did nice things; ten guys got in today and everyone contributed so that was a lot of fun to see.
 
"Defensively we want to eliminate second-chance opportunities. We had single-digit turnovers and we always want to be under 10, while we always want to hold the other team to less than 10 offensive rebounds and we limited them to seven. So it worked!
 
"For Jarvis to come in, I mean he was hoopin'. For him to come off the bench and give us that spark, he was great."
 
UP NEXT
UIndy hosts Lake Erie on Sunday with a scheduled tip for 3 p.m. inside Nicoson Hall. The Greyhounds have won each of the past four games against the Storm, dating back to December 2009.