KOKOMO, Ind. – The Indiana University Kokomo men's basketball team dropped their first conference contest of the year to Alice Lloyd College Friday afternoon, 73-63. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in River States Conference play.

Trequan Spivey got the Cougars on the board first with a jumper, but Alice Lloyd responded with eight straight to take a 8-2 lead early in the opening half. IU Kokomo answered the Eagles run with eight consecutive points of their own, with a Hunter Jackson deep ball giving the Cougars the lead again at 10-8. The remainder of the first half was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than six points. Alice Lloyd took a 34-31 lead over IU Kokomo into halftime.

Trailing 39-37 early in the second half, a pair of free throws from Allante Harper knotted the score at 39. The Eagles responded well to the challenge, reeling off seven straight points to build a seven-point lead at 46-39. Alice Lloyd led by eight at 52-44, but Trequan Spivey knocked down three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to two and force an Eagle timeout.

IU Kokomo carried their momentum out of the timeout and took a 54-52 lead after Desean Hampton buckets on consecutive possessions, but Alice Lloyd eventually responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead for good and force a Cougar timeout with 8:41 remaining in the game. Trailing 62-58, Spivey completed an old-fashioned three-point play to pull IU Kokomo within one at 62-51.

The Cougars were outscored 11-2 in the final 5:57 of the contest, dropping the contest 73-63.

Spivey led the Cougars with 22 points, while Desean Hampton recorded a double-double of 13 points and 16 rebounds.

IU Kokomo will return to the court Tuesday evening as they welcome Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College to the Student Activities and Events Center. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the IU Kokomo Cougars, fans can visit IUKCougars.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Cougar news by following @IUKAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.