Indiana men’s basketball bounced back from its disappointing loss to the University of Kentucky on Dec. 13 with a 78-58 victory over Northeast Conference opponent Chicago State University.
Just 12 seconds into the game, redshirt senior guard Conor Enright found senior forward Sam Alexis for a dunk to open up scoring. From then on, it was all fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson.
After setting the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall scoring record with a 44-point explosion against Penn State on Dec. 9, Wilkerson picked up right where he left off Saturday. In just the first six minutes of action, Wilkerson drained four 3-pointers as the Cream and Crimson raced out to a 22-9 lead.
As the Hoosiers built their lead, sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway scored a layup to reach 1,000 career points. Conerway finished the game with 5 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
In the final 10 minutes of the half, redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries and junior guard Nick Dorn came alive. DeVries knocked down two 3-pointers to score his first points of the game and extend the Indiana lead to 17, while Dorn poured in three longballs in the final three minutes of the half to go up 52-29 at the break.
Despite being outscored 16-8 in the paint through 20 minutes, the Cream and Crimson shot 14-for-26 from beyond the arc in the first half to establish their lead.
To start the second half, the Hoosiers went cold. Indiana made just one of its first 12 shots, including an 0 for 16 start from 3-point range. But unlike the first half, the Cream and Crimson turned to the interior.
Senior forward Reed Bailey scored six straight for the Hoosiers to push the lead to 24 with 14 minutes remaining. Indiana scored 14 of its 26 points in the paint in the second half. The Hoosiers won the rebounding battle 44-33.
While Indiana’s offense slowed, it remained insistent on launching 3-pointers. The Hoosiers attempted a program record 46 3-pointers, and the Cream and Crimson took a 20-point lead into the under 12 media timeout.
Wilkerson ended a three minute Indiana scoring drought at the free throw line and quickly scored again in the paint to secure his fourth 20-point game of the season.
Dorn knocked down the Hoosiers’ first 3-pointer of the half after a near 12-minute slump with 8:24 to play, and Indiana closed out a 78-58 victory over the Cougars.
Wilkerson finished with 21 points and six assists, Dorn added 15 points and Bailey tallied 17 points along with eight rebounds. Enright dished out seven assists and nabbed two steals.
Indiana will finish its nonconference schedule with a matchup against Siena University at 6 p.m. Monday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
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.
