With Indiana men’s basketball up 99-56 with 23 seconds remaining, Jasai Miles stepped up to the free throw line, looking to give the Hoosiers their third 100-point game of the season.
The junior guard who came from off the bench made one of his two free throws to give the Hoosiers their 100th point. It was only fitting that a player off the bench capped off Indiana’s 100-56 victory over Bethune-Cookman University on Saturday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
While the free throw was Miles’ only point of the day, the Indiana bench as a whole played significant minutes and added valuable contributions throughout its contest against Bethune-Cookman.
The Hoosiers’ bench scored nearly half of the Cream and Crimson’s points, tallying 45 total points in the contest. Senior forward Sam Alexis, junior guard Nick Dorn and freshman forward Trent Sisley contributed 14 points apiece off the bench, while Miles and freshman guard Drew Snively added one and two points, respectively.
Dorn has been working his way into the Hoosiers lineup after missing the first two games with a preseason injury. Against Bethune-Cookman, Dorn looked closer to finding his place as he scored a season high in points and went 4 for 5 from beyond the arc in his 19 minutes on the court.
“He's getting more and more comfortable,” Darian DeVries said postgame. “You can obviously see it today why we're so excited to have him back because he does bring a lot of firepower for us right now coming off the bench.”
In addition to Dorn’s valuable minutes against Bethune-Cookman, Alexis and Sisley contributed important playing time.
Alexis continued what he has done all season long. The University of Florida transfer has been a spark off the bench for the Hoosiers throughout the season, and at times, has been the only bench player to produce.
On Saturday, Alexis scored in double figures for the fourth time this season. Alexis was 6 of 9 from the field, 2 of 2 from the free throw line and grabbed eight rebounds. Alexis is a valuable piece off the bench for the Hoosiers and continued his success against the Wildcats.
Sisley is the only freshman on the team in the Hoosiers rotation and has shown glimpses of what he is capable of on the court.
In addition to his 14 points, the Santa Claus, Indiana, native neared a double-double performance with nine rebounds in 22 minutes on the floor. Sisley was 6 of 10 from the field and 1 of 2 from the free throw line.
Getting Sisley and the rest of the bench involved and playing significant minutes in early season nonconference games is important for the Hoosiers, as it builds game confidence heading into a highly competitive schedule.
The Hoosiers’ schedule will continue to get more demanding as the season continues. In its next four games, Indiana will face two conference opponents in Minnesota and Penn State, as well as two highly ranked nonconference opponents in No. 6 University of Louisville and No. 19 University of Kentucky.
“The games are going to continue to get harder and harder,” Darian DeVries said. “When you start league play it gets amped up even more. We're going to need a couple days as we get ready for the next one, and that's a road game to open up Big Ten play.”
With the level of competition to soon increase, the Hoosiers will need contributions from all areas of the roster — like they got Saturday — if they hope to continue their success into the remainder of their nonconference schedule and through the duration of their conference slate.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
