Red Wolves - IU East

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - No scoreboard. No game clock. No shot clock.

No problem.

The Indiana University East men's basketball team improved to 3-0 with an 81-73 victory at Union College (Ky.) on Nov. 6.

The Red Wolves and the Bulldogs played without the usual electronic surroundings, but IU East found a way to win.

"It was the weirdest game," said Red Wolves coach Mark Hester. "No clock, no shot clock, no scoreboard, and they had to call times and scores over the microphone.

"It's a win, and we'll move on."

Senior guard Tyler Rigby (Bryant, Ind./Jay County High School) said the Red Wolves formed a stronger pack on the long, strange trip.

"This road trip showed us a lot as a team," said Rigby, who was credited with 31 points. "It was our first time on the road and showed how well everyone gets along and how much of a team we really are. This will help us out a lot."

The Red Wolves rode a hot-shooting first half to a double-digit lead at the break.

IU East led by as much as 23 in the second half. Union would get within nine, but the Red Wolves made 81 percent of their free throws to maintain a safe lead.

The shaky finish occupied Hester's mind on the long bus ride home.

"(The win) is a good thing, but our focus is not on outcomes," Hester said. "It's how we got to that point.

"We didn't do a lot of the things we talked about well, and those are the types of things that will come back to haunt you later in the year."

Rigby also said the Red Wolves can't be satisfied with their 3-0 start.

"Obivously this is our best start (no other IU East team has started 3-0) and we've had to play pretty well, but it's pretty early in the season," Rigby said.

"I don't want to jinx it by saying too much, but right now we're playing pretty well, but we have a few more tests coming up."

Vince Coleman led Union with 15 points. The Red Wolves limited Payton Ponzer, the Bulldogs' top returning scorer, to two points.

The next test for the Red Wolves is Nov. 9 against the University of Michigan-Dearborn at the Richmond High School Tiernan Center.

Tipoff time is 7 p.m.

Click here for the IU East-Union box score.