Red Wolves - IU East

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The game itself went as expected.

The Indiana University East men's basketball team bottled up St. Louis College of Pharmacy 83-46 in a Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest in "The Pillbox" on Jan. 23.

The game within the game?

A mixed result.

"It's better, but it's all relative," said IU East coach Mark Hester, whose team improved to 11-8 overall and 3-2 in the KIAC.

"We've still got a lot of things to work on and a lot of improvements to make and a short time to do it."

Hester and the players didn't focus on the finals numbers on the scoreboard against the Eutectics (1-13, 0-3).

They were more interested in "hustle points" numbers such as charges taken and offensive rebounds.

The Red Wolves traveled to St. Louis in vans and played the game in their practice uniforms to reinforce the no-frills approach to the contest.

IU East limited St. Louis College of Pharmacy to a .185 field goal percentage in the first half and built a 48-17 lead.

IU East enjoyed scoring runs of 14-1 and 10-0 in the first 20 minutes.

The Red Wolves would lead by as much as 43 in the second half.

Despite the final margin, the players also gave themselves mixed reviews.

"We did do a good job on the defensive end," said sophomore guard David Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind./Beech Grove High School).

"But our game within the game was not good. We gave up way too many offensive rebounds and we had too many turnovers and we lost the second-chance points margin."

Junior guard Brent Burris (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds for IU East.

Junior guard Tyler Rigby (Bryant, Ind./Jay County High School) added 20 points - his ninth consecutive game with at least 20 points.

Senior center Noah Douglas (Indianapolis, Ind./St. Joseph's College) had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Sanders added seven points and a team-best eight assists.

Luke O'Brien (18 points) and Matt Finet (15 points) scored most of the points for the Eutectics.

IU East plays Jan. 26 at KIAC opponent Cincinnati Christian University. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.

The game is scheduled to be broadcast on 930 WHON-AM and www.930whon.com.