Red Wolves - IU East

RICHMOND, Ind. - If there's any consolation, the Red Wolves pushed a likely national qualifier to the final minute on Feb. 18.

The Indiana University East men's basketball team fell 77-73 against Brescia University in a Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest in the Richmond High Schoool Tiernan Center.

Brescia (20-9, 9-3) entered the game ranked 30th in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll. The Bearcats won their fifth game in a row.

"In no way did I not want to win this game," said IU East coach Mark Hester. "But with this win, if Brescia takes care of business (Feb. 20 agaist Alice Lloyd College) then that probably will give the conference two teams in the NAIA National Championships.

"As the conference rater and conference sport chair, I'm very proud of that, and I feel like we contributed by raising the level of competition in the conference."

On this night, the Red Wolves couldn't overcome Brescia's red-hot first half.

Brescia made 64 percent of its shots in the first half to build a double-digit lead and held on to hand IU East a loss that severely damaged the Red Wolves' hopes for a top-four finish in the KIAC.

The Bearcats went on a 21-2 run late in the first half to erase a 10-point IU East lead and build a 34-25 advantage.

Brescia made 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions at one point in that surge to take the lead for good.

"We got a little lacksadasical on defense," said senior forward Noah Douglas (Indianapolis, Ind./St. Joseph's College).

"And we let (Brescia forward Anthony) Ingram get hot, and when a scorer gets confidence, it opens up everything."

Ingram scored 19 of his 23 points in the first half.

The Bearcats would lead by as much as 12 in the second half, but the Red Wolves rallied behind junior guard Tyler Rigby (Bryant, Ind./Jay County High School) and Douglas.

Rigby would finish with 27 points on 11 of 14 shooting. Douglas posted 17 points and 11 rebounds -- all in the second half.

"We moved the ball on offense pretty well and started to get on a roll on offense, which picked us up on defense," Douglas said. "It all came full circle."

The Red Wolves had possession with a chance to tie in the final minute, but Brescia's Andrew Howard made a timely steal and made two free throws to give the Bearcats a two-possession lead.

Howard led Brescia with 25 points.

The Red Wolves conclude the regular season Feb. 20 with a home game against KIAC leader Indiana University Southeast. The Grenadiers are third in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll.

Feb. 20 also is Junior Red Wolves Autograph Day. An autograph session for Junior Red Wolves members will be held after the game.

Junior Red Wolves membership is free, and youngsters can join at any time. Download a membership form at www.iueredwolves.com, or register at the Feb. 20 game.