Men's Basketball: Red Wolves Fall in Season Opener

RICHMOND, Ind. - The Indiana University East men’s basketball team opened the 2023-24 season in the First Bank of Richmond Classic with a hard-fought 75-72 loss against NAIA No. 21 ranked Northwestern Iowa College in front of a packed house at Lingle Court on Friday, Nov. 3.

The Red Wolves got out of the gates with a slow start and found themselves with an early deficit of 21-9 when the visiting Raiders went on a 12-3 run midway through the first half that spanned six minutes.

IU East played tough and hit some crucial three pointers to crawl back to within 34-30 late in the first half as the Raiders took at 39-30 lead into the intermission.

The Red Wolves kept the ranked Raiders within their sights in the early portions of the second half and drew within three points at 53-50, which was the closest the Red Wolves were since early in the first half.

IU East took its first lead of the game at 66-64 with 5:48 remaining on a Devon Woods layup to set the stage for a classic finish.

The advantage was quickly erased as the Raiders took the lead back 68-66 at the 4:48 mark. The visitors did not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game.

Late 3-point attempts by Jake Johnson and Ibra Athie came up empty in the final seconds and would have tied the game.

The Red Wolves shot 45 percent from the field and 34 percent from behind the arc. The Raiders outscored the Red Wolves 50-26 in the paint, while IU East outscored Northwestern Iowa 27-14 in bench points.

Each team had four players in double figures. The Red Wolves were led by Athie with 14 points. Chad Cox (12), Tobie Billups (11), and Woods (10) rounded out the double-digit scoring for IU East. The Raiders were led by Alex Van Kalsbeek with a game-high 21 points.

The Red Wolves return to action on Saturday, Nov. 4 when they conclude the two-day First Bank of Richmond Classic against Grace Christian University (Michigan) with a tip-off on Lingle Court at 3 p.m.

Oakland City University defeated Grace Christian 82-76 in Friday’s other contest. Northwestern Iowa and Oakland City play on Saturday at 1 p.m.