Tayton Conerway picked up his assignment just before halfcourt, where he poked the ball away and looked to earn an extra possession.
The Indiana men’s basketball sixth-year senior guard dove for the ball, which went out of bounds in front of the Hoosiers’ bench. Still, the Cream and Crimson forced a 10-second violation to regain possession.
Indiana led the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee by 25 points with just under five minutes remaining, and Conerway wasn’t satisfied quite yet. The Hoosier faithful gave Conerway a standing ovation for his efforts — the kind Indiana fans always long for.
The Hoosiers eventually secured a 101-70 victory over the Panthers inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Early in the contest, Conerway drove into the lane and made a layup. And then another over seven minutes later.
With just over 11 minutes left in the first half, Conerway drained a 3-pointer before driving for another layup a minute later.
Conerway blew by Milwaukee senior forward Danilo Jovanovich with 5:18 remaining, drawing a foul and making a trip to the charity stripe. He sank both shots from the line as he finished the first half with 11 points, two rebounds and two assists.
Conerway established himself as a distributor over the first two games of the season with 13 assists to 18 total points. But his ability to blow by defenders led Indiana to victory Wednesday. The Burleson, Texas, native said he felt the confidence from his team ahead of the game.
“On the film, I mean, a part that we feel like we could attack was like the one-on-one defense, and there ain't too many people that can stay in front of our guys,” Conerway said postgame. “So, definitely just exploiting that ... and Coach DeVries at the end of the day just telling me, ‘Man, they can't stay in front of you, so go get the job done,’ and that's what happened.”
Although the Panthers couldn’t stay in front of Conerway on the defensive end, they knocked down the open 3-point opportunities the Hoosiers allowed in the first half. Indiana head coach Darian DeVries said his squad put a lot of time into preventing those looks over the past few days.
The Panthers were 4 for 8 from distance with just over seven minutes until halftime, but entered the break just 5 for 11. Indiana was 9 for 14 from beyond the arc at halftime.
Still, DeVries said he didn’t feel his squad was as “hooked up” as they usually are defensively in the opening half. The Hoosiers allowed opportunities to shooters who could get on a roll and make a handful of longballs, he said.
In the second half, though, Milwaukee went 0 for 6 from beyond the arc while Indiana went 5 for 14.
“So, I thought the guys after halftime did a much better job,” DeVries said. “I thought we were way more aggressive. We got them pushed out, and we were able to disrupt them a lot more.”
Conerway scored first to begin the second half, driving into the lane and making a layup. He made another with 8:02 left before draining a pair of free throws on the Hoosiers’ next possession.
And again, Conerway continued to get past defenders and into the lane for looks at the basket. He made layups on back-to-back possessions with under four minutes to go as the Hoosiers earned the victory.
Conerway finished the contest with 21 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals in 34 minutes on the court. Only fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson, who made five 3-pointers, scored more with his game-high 24 points.
“We thought he (Conerway) could potentially have a big night,” DeVries said. “We talked to him at shootaround today. ‘Like any time we're in trouble, just create a gap or have the other guys create a gap and you just stick your head down and try to get to the rim and make a play.’”
That’s just what Conerway did.
“Tayton just has an ability to get by people,” DeVries said. “He's got a little shake to his game. You haven't seen it a lot. He hasn't needed to.”
And while Conerway led the team with six assists Wednesday, the Hoosiers continue to play selfless basketball. They notched 23 assists on 34 made field goals against the Panthers.
In total, Indiana has assisted on 73 of its 103 field goals this season. It wasn’t until the fifth game of the season a year ago that the Hoosiers reached that total.
But when a team full of selfless players are willing to pass up good shots for great ones and spread the ball to their teammates, games like Wednesday are the result. And when an explosive guard like Conerway drives into the lane and dishes to teammates, his unselfishness is on display.
“Sometimes even though that layup is open, there are seven footers now, so if we kick it up, wide open 3-pointer,” Conerway said. “Lamar, Tucker, they ain't going to miss too many of them. And then, yeah, that's really our reason why right there: Stay unselfish.”
In all, the Hoosiers improved to 3-0 with their 31-point victory. They’re averaging 99.6 points and 12.6 longballs per game. Conerway leads the squad with his 6.3 assists per contest, but he provided a relentlessness Wednesday — and a fan-favorite hustle play Indiana fans will grow accustomed to seeing.
“Thought he did a good job attacking tonight,” DeVries said. “He got to the rim a lot, he got into the paint and sprayed. So, he's one of those guys — that's something we're going to need throughout the year.”
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.
