JUST BARELY

Without taking a shot from the floor the entire game, Daniel Moore led the Hoosiers to their second win of the season Tuesday, beating IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, 60-57.

Down one with 27.1 seconds to play, IUPUI coach Ron Hunter called for a time-out. After dribbling out most of the clock, Jaguar freshman forward Alex Young launched a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

The ball ricocheted off the rim, and a scrum for the ball ensued under the basket.
Moore, the 5-foot-11 walk-on guard, came up with the rebound.

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“I don’t even know if I boxed out,” Moore said. “I just kind of felt my way and got lucky.”

His “luck” extended to the next play. After collecting the rebound, Moore was fouled with 1.2 seconds to play. The freshman walked to the line and coolly sank the first one.

After hitting his first free throw, Moore, noticing the time on the clock, went over to IU coach Tom Crean and asked if he should miss the second one intentionally.

Crean told him to make it, explaining to reporters afterward the Hoosiers hadn’t practiced the late-game situations yet.

“My rule of thumb is, anything a second over you make the shot because you can still lose the game,” Crean said. “The wrong bounce and a heave and you can lose the game.”

With no Hoosiers lined up on the free-throw blocks, Moore drained the second one to give the Hoosiers a three-point lead. IUPUI’s desperate attempt at the buzzer failed.

Moore’s two free throws were the only points the Hoosiers scored in the last three minutes of the game.

For the night, Moore finished with two points, a game-high six assists and two rebounds in 23 minutes of play.

“To play 23 minutes and control the game the way he did was really special,” Crean said.

For the second time in as many games, Pritchard finished the game with a double-double, recording 19 points and 10 rebounds. He’s the first player to begin the season with two double-doubles since Jared Jeffries and the first freshman to ever accomplish the feat. Freshman Matt Roth chipped in with 12 points, knocking down 4-of-9 3-pointers, and junior Devan Dumes and freshman Nick Williams each added 10.

But it was Moore’s play that helped the Hoosiers grind out the victory. With 8:15 to play, freshman guard Verdell Jones went down with an ankle injury, and IU trainer Tim Garl determined Jones should sit out the rest of the game.

But Moore was there to pick up the slack, energizing the team and the 13,174 in attendance. At one point, Assembly Hall even broke out into a “Daniel-Moore” chant.

“In the last couple of weeks, he’s really bought into what his role is, which is to absolutely be tough as nails every possession on defense, get the team in an offense and the communication is coming.” Crean said. “He is so fast when we get into an open floor game we really feel good having him in there.”

Sitting next to Moore at the press conference, Pritchard was asked to describe Moore’s contributions.

“He can get the crowd up for the play, and he can also make passes,” Pritchard said. “He can make passes to anyone on the team. He has great vision on the court and he’s really quick.”

The Hoosiers resume action on Monday when they play Notre Dame in the first round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Williams said the team is looking forward to the adversity it will face in the competitive pre-season tournament.

“We’re the underdog in every game we play no matter who we play,” he said. “We’re a band of brothers, and we’re going to fight for each other every day.”