PIPPA PASSES, Ky. – The Cougar men's basketball team continued their winning ways Thursday night, hanging on to beat Alice Lloyd 76-73. IU Kokomo is now 14-5 overall and 8-1 in River States Conference play.

Each team struggled to score early, as Alice Lloyd led 5-0 three minutes into the game. Xavier Hines got the Cougars on the board with a triple, making it 5-3 Eagles. Hines triple was the beginning of a 10-0 IUK run.

Alice Lloyd responded with six-straight points to take an 11-10 lead, their final lead of the game. Leading 18-17, IU Kokomo went on another 10-0 run, capped off by another Hines deep-ball. The Cougars led by as many as 13 late in the first half, and led 35-25 at halftime.

The Eagles got within nine in the opening minute of the second half, but IUK continued their strong play and regained a double-digit lead. The Cougars led by as many as 17, but Alice Lloyd cut the lead to 11 to force an IUK timeout.

A bucket from Chris Chin out of the timeout extended the Cougar lead back to 13, but Alice Lloyd refused to go away quietly. With IUK leading 54-42, the Eagles scored six unanswered points to cut the lead in half at the ten-minute mark.

Alice Lloyd got within three points with 8:01 remaining in the game, but IU Kokomo regained and maintained at least a five-point lead until the final two minutes. As part of a 7-0 run while trailing 69-61, the Eagles trailed by just a point with 1:13 to go.

After an Eric Echelbarger timeout, Xavier Hines knocked down his fourth trey of the game for a 72-68 lead. The Eagles made a layup to get within two in the final 18 seconds, but four consecutive points from IUK extended the lead back to six. IU Kokomo held on to beat Alice Lloyd 76-73.

Hunter White and Xavier Hines had 16 points apiece to lead IUK in scoring Thursday. White added four rebounds and four assists to his stat-line.

Hunter Jackson had an impressive performance, stuffing the stat-sheet with 12 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Julien Hunter also scored 12 points on the evening. Zach Rinehart pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

The Cougars will now travel to West Virginia to take on West Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 3:00 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.