INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After making up the better part of a double-digit deficit in the early stages of the second half, 24
th-ranked Indianapolis got away from Missouri S&T's men's basketball team over the final 13 minutes to come away with an 86-67 win Thursday night in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest at Nicoson Hall.
The Miners (10-5, 4-3 GLVC) trailed by as much as 12 in the first half, but got it back to six by halftime following a three-pointer by
Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) just before the half ended and had the margin down to two with just over seven gone in the second half. However, the Greyhounds (13-2, 5-2 GLVC) scored 14 of the next 18 points to extend their lead to nine and later used a 10-0 run to increase the margin to end S&T's three-game winning streak.
The teams played on relatively even terms for the first seven minutes of the contest, with S&T tying the game at nine following a three-pointer by
Ikenna Okeke (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville) and again at 11 after another Okeke basket as he would score 12 of S&T's first 14 points in the game. But after his basket that brought about the second tie, the Greyhounds ran off 10 straight points and held a lead of anywhere from eight to 12 points for most of the opening half.
UIndy led 41-30 late in the first half when the Miners got two free throws from Froebe in the final minute and then a three-pointer from him right before the buzzer to cut the lead to six at the intermission. Then after the Greyhounds regained their 10-point lead early in the second half, the Miners outscored UIndy 10-2 to get to within two with just under 13 minutes to go.
The rally was spearheaded by
Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove), who scored eight of the Miners' first 10 points of the half to get the lead down to four. Following a Josiah Hynes basket that extended the Greyhound lead back to six,
Alex Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit) hit a three out of the corner to cut that lead in half, then Williams trimmed the lead to two when he made one-of-two at the line.
However, Uindy went on its 14-4 surge after the Williams free throw with much of the damage being done by Jarvis Walker as he scored six of the points in that burst that ended with the Greyhounds holding a 12-point lead.
The Miners struggled throughout the night in containing UIndy's Kendrick Tchoua, who went a perfect eight-of-eight from the field on his way to a career-high 26 points in the contest.
Okeke led three Miners in double figures with 17 points, while
Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) closed the night with 15 and Williams tallied 13. S&T shot just 41.1 percent from the field in the game and just 35.7 percent in the second half as all three of its losses in conference play have come to teams that were nationally ranked at the time of the matchup.
Missouri S&T will continue its road trip Saturday as it faces Lewis in a 3 p.m. game in Romeoville, Ill.
