NEW ALBANY, Ind. – The IU Southeast men's basketball team defeated Simmons 79-68 in the Grenadiers' home opener on Tuesday.
 
IU Southeast maintained a narrow edge until a 7-0 run gave the Grenadiers a 26-18 lead. IU Southeast scored the final four points of the half to take a 37-27 lead into halftime.
 
Leading 42-34, IU Southeast used a 10-0 run to take a 52-34 lead, but Simmons did not go down without a fight. The Falcons cut the Grenadier lead back to single digits at 55-46 with nine minutes remaining.
 
IU Southeast extended their edge to 15 at 66-51 with just under seven minutes to go and never looked back as the Grenadiers would go on to win 79-68.
 
"We won, but it wasn't pretty," IU Southeast head coach Wiley Brown said. "We're lucky we shot the ball well because our defense was bad. We have to get mentally tougher. We had bad turnovers in key moments. We have a good team, but I need them to think great. Back to the lab!"
 
IU Southeast was led in scoring by Nathaniel Hoffman with 19 points. Camden Pfeister had 18 points on a perfect 6-6 from the field, including 3-3 from three. Trent Hinkle had 10 points and a team-high seven assists in his first game of the season. Jaden Johnson had 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench.
 
The Grenadiers shot 12-25 from behind the arc in the win.
 
IU Southeast moves to 2-0 on the year. The Grenadiers return to action on Nov. 4 against Miami-Middletown.