The IU Columbus bench erupts after Deante Luster (2) scored the first points in the school’s history Tuesday against Saint Francis in the Circle K Fieldhouse at Nexus Park in Columbus.
Tommy Walker/For The Republic
IU Columbus debuted its men’s basketball program before a sizeable crowd at Nexus Park Tuesday.
Unfortunately for the Crimson Pride, St. Francis spoiled the party. The visitors from Fort Wayne handed IUC a 104-61 loss in the first game in program history.
“I was satisfied and excited about it,” IUC coach James Adams said. “It was a dream-come-true to be here and to have this experience, watching the fans come through the doors and supporting the program. I want them to be supportive because we’re only going to get better. We will not dwindle. We will continue to keep getting better.”
St. Francis is a perennial power in NAIA and proved to be a formidable first opponent for the Crimson Pride.
“I am extremely pleased with my guys,” Adams said. “I couldn’t ask for anything different. We’re a first-year program. We were playing against a veteran team that’s been around for years. They have guys who were playing together last year. We’re brand new. This is the first time we ever played against an opponent. We’ve been playing against each other in practice, so it was a completely different vibe.”
IUC started out strong in each half. The Crimson Pride scored the game’s first six points on back-to-back 3-pointers by Deante Luster and Owen Law.
IUC led 20-19 with 11 minutes left in the first half and was within 30-26 with 6:45 remaining in the half. But the Cougars finished the half on a 27-7 run to take a 57-33 lead at the break.
The Crimson Pride scored the first seven points of the second half, but then could not get any closer.
“We added some different things coming into the second half,” Adams said. “We wanted to mix some things up. We added some more pressure.”
Gavin Dowling, a sophomore transfer from Anderson University, led IUC with 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
“It’s exciting,” Dowling said. “It is something that not many people get to experience, especially in 2024. Not a lot of people get to experience being a first-time program and playing in that first game.”
Law, a sophomore from Jennings County who played tennis at IU Southeast last year, scored 14 points for the Crimson Pride. Luster added 11 points.
Ben Sylva, a sophomore from Columbus East, who played at Olivet Nazarene last year, scored four points and led IUC with three steals. Jack Fischvogt, a freshman from East, had a blocked shot.
“I think we competed in that first half for the first about 10 minutes,” Dowling said. “I think there’s things that we need to work on. They’re an established program. They have a really good team, but there’s definitely positives to take away from this. We’re going to get on the road, and we’re going to start working on those. It’s a cliche, but a journey of 1,000 miles starts with one step. Today was Step 1, and we’re going to continue to go from here. I’m excited to see what we can do.”
The Crimson Pride now hit the road for the next seven games, beginning this weekend when they play Huntington on Friday and Cleary on Saturday in Huntington’s Hall of Fame Classic. The next home game is Nov. 14 against Lourdes.
“What we can do is just learn from it,” Adams said. “We can watch film, and we can prepare for our next couple games coming up this weekend. So I’m not disappointed by any means. I feel like we competed, and we played hard.
“We have to get bigger, we have to get stronger, we have to get faster,” he added. “We’re not going to get any respect, and I don’t expect to get any respect. This is our first game. All we can do is keep building and getting better.”
St. Francis 104, IU Columbus 61
St. Francis (1-0): Branden Northern 2-4 5-8 9, Joe Reidy 2-3 2-2 6, Zane Burke 4-8 2-2 12, Luke Almodovar 5-7 1-2 13, Isaiah Malone 4-4 3-4 13, Robert Frye II 2-10 1-4 5, D’Amare Hood 7-10 2-2 18, Karson Robers 7-11 5-5 19, Keshawn McNeill 1-3 0-1 2, Jackson Gowdy 1-5 0-3 2, Matthew Roettger 1-2 0-0 2, Sam Johnson 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 37-69 22-35 104.
IU Columbus (0-1): Willie Reece 0-2 0-0 0, Deante Luster 4-12 2-3 11, Damonte Thompson 0-2 2-2 2, Owen Law 5-14 0-0 14, Gavin Dowling 8-12 0-0 16, Ben Sylva 2-3 0-0 4, Nathan Pickett 2-8 3-4 7, Bobby Wonnell 2-4 0-0 4, Seth Trimble 1-5 0-0 2, Jack Fischvogt 0-2 0-0 0, Chase Ridao 0-0 0-0 0, LaRenzo Hopkins 0-4 1-2 1, Mile Ivezic 0-1 0-0 0, Eric Torrence 0-0 0-0 0, Joey Ross 0-1 0-0 0, Daniel Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-73 8-11 61.
3-point goals: St. Francis 8-25 (Northern 0-1, Burke 2-5, Almodovar 2-4, Malone 2-2, Frye 0-4, Hood 2-4, Rogers 0-1, McNeill 0-2, Gowdy 0-1). IU Columbus 5-25 (Reece 0-1, Luster 1-5, Law 4-9, Dowling 0-2, Sylva 0-1, Pickett 0-3, Wonnell 0-2, Trimble 0-1, Fischvogt 0-1).
Halftime score: St. Francis 57, IU Columbus 33
