IU SOUTHEAST CRUISES TO 88-72 VICTORY OVER OHIO CHRISTIAN

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio – The IU Southeast men's basketball team rolled to an 88-72 victory over Ohio Christian in a contest that saw the Grenadiers lead for nearly all 40 minutes.

Ahmad Price led the Grenadiers in scoring with 21 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Gabriel Casillas Cruz added 19 points and shared the team-lead with Price with seven rebounds. Jared Osborne scored 19 points and pulled down six rebounds in the contest.

IU Southeast (6-13, 4-4 RSC) started the game off with a bang, hitting a trio of three pointers in the first couple minutes to take a 9-3 lead. After a 6-0 run gave IU Southeast a 25-15 lead later in the quarter, Ohio Christian responded with a 10-0 run to tie the game at 25-25.

A Jaren Starks jumper gave the Grenadiers a 30-27 lead, but back-to-back Ohio Christian jumpers gave the Blazers their first and only lead of the game. A 5-0 run by Ahmad Price gave the Grenadiers a 46-38 lead late in the first half, and IU Southeast would go into halftime with a 46-41 advantage.

Ahmad Price scored 13 points and pulled down six rebounds in the first half. Gabriel Casillas Cruz scored 10 first half points on a perfect 4-4 shooting. The Grenadiers shot 17-34 in the first half, including going 5-11 from behind the arc. IU Southeast hit seven of their nine first half free throw attempts.

The second half was all IU Southeast. The Grenadiers began the second half on a 7-0 run to take a twelve-point lead, and the double-digit lead remained for the rest of the contest. A 10-0 run by the Grenadiers gave them a 63-43 lead with 14:23 remaining in the contest. Back-to-back threes by Ohio Christian cut the lead to 14, but they never pulled any closer as IU Southeast went on to win 88-72.

Jared Osborne scored 15 second half points on 6-8 shooting and a perfect 3-3 from three-point range. Gabriel Casillas Cruz scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds after halftime. Anthony Wales Jr. dished out five assists in the second half.

IU Southeast shot an even 50 percent from the field in the contest and went 8-20 from behind the arc. The Grenadiers' success from the free throw line was a key to victory, hitting 16 of their 20 attempts.

The Grenadiers return home on Tuesday for a matchup with RSC foe IU East.