Success on the court
The University of Indianapolis men’s basketball team, who have won four of their last five games, defeated GLVC foe Rockhurst University (5-17, 3-11 GLVC) 87-52 on Feb. 6 in Kansas City, Mo.
Senior guard Darius Adams, the Division II Bulletin Men’s Basketball Player of the Month, led the team with 26 points and five rebounds. Adams has also been named GLVC Player of the Week three times this season, two of them back-to-back.
Junior guard Adrian Moss contributed 14 points and nine rebounds and junior center Wilbur O’Neal added 10 points and six rebounds in the 35 point victory.
After a series of wins, the team fell to Drury University (16-5, 9-4 GLVC), 72-87, on Feb. 4. It was the Greyhound’s first game since gaining a No. 22 ranking on the Division II national poll, their first national ranking in seven years.
Moss led the team with 17 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Adams was held to just 16 points, four rebounds and three steals.
Freshman center Joe Daniels added 10 points while junior guard Cory Zackery finished with eight points and five rebounds against the Panthers, who hit 9-of-20 (.450) from behind the arc. UIndy hit just 4-of-23 (.174) three-pointers in the loss.
Despite scoring below his 25.8 point average against Drury, Adams’ 16 points were enough to make him the 35th player in UIndy history to join the 1,000 point club.
“With winning comes individual accolades,” said head basketball coach Stan Gouard, “We set the standards high after our pre-season win against Tennessee.”
Adams has been leading the charge for the UIndy (17-5, 10-4 GLVC) men’s basketball team, which recently clinched a berth in the 2011 GLVC Tournament. Adams had 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists as the Greyhounds defeated St. Joseph’s College (10-12, 6-8 GLVC), 88-61 on Jan. 29 in Nicoson Hall.
“I don’t look at it [honors] as something that was my goal. The awards are a bonus,” Adams said. “The wins are what is important. That is the main goal, to win basketball games.”
Freshman forward Leland Brown added 13 points to the win, which also saw O’Neal score 13 points and five rebounds in only 11 minutes on the court. Defense was the staple of the victory as the Greyhounds held St. Joe’s to under 30 percent shooting, which was the best defense of the season for the Greyhounds.
“A lot of credit goes to Adrian Moss,” Gouard said, “He makes sure guys are ready each and every game and that the guys are getting the ball in the right situation.”
Just two days earlier, the Greyhounds defeated the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (8-13, 5-9 GLVC). It was another large-margin victory as they finished the game 87-67, led by Adams’ 24 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.
“Last year, we had a bunch of guys that weren’t together. This team is together,” Adams said.“It’s something that we have bought into.”
Three other UIndy players finished the game in double figures. O’Neal put up 19 points, senior forward Dewann Squires contributed 16 and Brown added another 11. The Greyhounds had nine three-point baskets in the game, and also took advantage of the free-throw line, shooting 16-of-19.
Gouard achieved his first win against No. 7 University of Southern Indiana (20-2, 12-2 GLVC) on Jan. 22.
It was his fourth attempt against his former team where he was both a player and assistant coach.
The game came down to the end when a last-second tip-in by O’Neal sealed the Greyhound victory, 70-68, at the Physical Activities Center in Evansville.
“We have to go through those teams to be an elite Division II team,” Gouard said.“I remember telling those guys in the locker room prior to the game that they [USI] are on a 10-game win streak, and what better thing to do than to come in here and win.”
Adams led UIndy with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. O’Neal added 12 points while Moss finished with 10 points in the win.
It was UIndy’s first win against USI since 1982.
