Red Wolves - IU East

This Friday the 13th had a happy ending for the Red Wolves.

The Indiana University East men's basketball team defeated Purdue University Calumet on Nov. 13 to conclude the opening night of the IU/PU Challenge at the Richmond High School Tiernan Center.

The Red Wolves (3-3) beat the Peregrines (0-3) on the strength of a 31-12 surge in the final 7:41.

"The bench motivated us to really get going," said senior guard Bijon Jones (Jackson, Tenn./Southeast Missouri State University). "We told ourselves, the last seven minutes, we need to make a push."

The night was turning into a horror film for the Red Wolves prior to the big finish. IU East led by as much as 14 during the first half, but Purdue Calumet got within three at the half.

The Peregrines pulled ahead 72-70 with 7:41 remaining on two free throws by Neal Hudson.

Hudson played the role of the boogeyman - in the eyes of IU East fans - with 28 points.

The Red Wolves took back the lead for good 10 seconds later on a 3-pointer by junior guard Tyler Rigby (Bryant, Ind./Jay County High School). It was the start of a 13-0 run that took just 86 seconds.

David Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind./Beech Grove High School) led IU East with 18 points.

"David hit some shots, Tyler hit some shots, and that got us going," Jones said.

Jones had a season-high 17 points and five assists off of the bench.

"My hand is injured, but the coaches were telling me to be aggressive," Jones said. "Tonight was the first night I found myself being more aggressive and looking to attack the basket. The guys did a good job of spreading it out for me and making it easy for me to get to the basket."

Senior center Noah Douglas (Indianapolis, Ind./St. Joseph's College) scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Rigby finished with 14 points. Senior forward Justin Hawkins (Evansville, Ind./Kentucky Wesleyan College) added 11.

"Indiana" leads the IU/PU Challenge 2-0 after one day. Indiana University Southeast defeated Purdue University North Central 95-65 in the tournament opener.

IU Southeast faces Purdue Calumet at 2 p.m. on Nov. 14. IU East concludes the event against Purdue North Central at 4 p.m.

IU East and IU Southeast both will receive a "Kesslers Trophy" if one of the two schools wins on Nov. 14. If the Purdue schools sweep the Nov. 14 games, the fewest total turnovers will be the tiebreaker.

The IU East-Purdue North Central game will be broadcast live on 930 WHON-AM and www.930whon.com. The game will be rebroadcast on the Hometown Sports Network, Comcast Channel 81, at 9 p.m. Nov. 15.