Men's Basketball: IU East 85, St. Francis 72

RICHMOND, Ind. - The Indiana University East men's basketball team opened the 2025-26 season with an 85-72 victory over the University of St. Francis on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

Tobey Billups led IU East with 22 points on Lingle Court against the Cougars (0-1).

The Red Wolves had three others in double figures as Mikey Johnson tossed in 19 points with Jeremiah Landers adding 13 and Caleb Maurer finishing with 10.

Tarrell Jewell grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for the Red Wolves, while contributing nine points. Johnson had four steals and three assists with Billups had three assists and three steals.

The game was tight early as the Cougars led 13-12 at the 14:16 mark of the first half.

Johnson put IU East on top 14-13 at 13:31 before he nailed a 3-pointer that put the Red Wolves in front 17-13 at 12:52. The Red Wolves were able to pull away to build a 49-32 advantage by the intermission.

St. Francis closed its deficit to 79-70 with 3:18 remaining, but the Red Wolves responded and put the game away.

Next up for IU East (1-0) is a trip to Georgia to face Reinhardt University in Waleska. The affair gets underway at 3 p.m. on Nov. 8.