KOKOMO, Ind. - The IU Kokomo Men's Basketball team picked up a second-consecutive home victory Tuesday night, rolling past IU Southeast 73-49 to take over sole possession of second place in the River States Conference West Division.

IU Kokomo and IU Southeast entered Tuesday with identical conference records of 5-5, with the top four teams from each division advancing to the postseason and the River States Conference Championship.

Both squads struggled to find any offensive footing early on, with the Grenadiers finally breaking the ice nearly two and a half minutes in for a 2-0 lead. The Cougars responded with nine-straight points of their own for a seven-point lead just over six minutes in.

Shooting 55% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, Head Coach Eric Echelbarger's squad held the Grenadiers to 33% from the field and 18% from three-point range, not allowing them to get to the line once in the first half.

The Cougars would score the final seven points of the first half, taking a commanding 36-20 lead into the locker room.

After IU Southeast opened the second half by scoring the first four points, an 11-0 spurt over the course of the next three minutes extended the IU Kokomo lead to 23 with 16 minutes to play.

The Grenadiers would trim the deficit to 19 twice the remainder of the half, but the Cougars were on cruise control, earning a 73-49 home win to improve to 15-8 overall and 6-5 in River States Conference action.

On a night in which IU Kokomo was just 2-10 from downtown, senior forward Noah Harris led IU Kokomo with 21 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

Fellow senior big man Max Newman, fresh off of joining the 1,000 point club, added 16 points and eight boards. Dell DeMyers impressed in multiple facets of the game Tuesday, pouring in 15 points.

The Cougars will next be in action Saturday, as they will hit the road to battle Midway Saturday at 1:00 PM.

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.