Throughout the nonconference slate, Indiana men’s basketball has struggled to finish games. It’s an issue that appeared early in a narrow victory over the University of the Incarnate Word on Nov. 16.
The Cream and Crimson’s second-half woes resurfaced in the leadup to the Big Ten schedule as the Hoosiers collapsed against the University of Kentucky on Dec. 13 and were outscored in the final 20 minutes by Chicago State University on Saturday.
But as Indiana began to suffer from its second-half tendencies Monday night against Siena University, sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway spearheaded an effort to establish an element of the Hoosiers’ offense that is frequently overlooked: driving to the basket.
Conerway scored 12 second half points as the Cream and Crimson retook control of a resurgent Siena squad en route to a 81-60 victory Monday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Similar to its game against Chicago State, Indiana had an efficient start to the game. Redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries drained a turnaround mid-range fadeaway jumper to kick off the scoring, and fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson converted each of his first two shot attempts for five early points as the Hoosiers jumped out to an 11-0 lead.
Half of Indiana’s 14 first half field goals were 3-pointers. Junior guard Nick Dorn joined Wilkerson and DeVries in hitting multiple longballs in the first 20 minutes as the Hoosiers entered the break with a 46-20 lead.
“I thought the first half was exactly what we wanted,” head coach Darian DeVries said postgame. “When we were getting stops, it allowed us to get out in transition, allowed us to get our shooters free.”
Freeing up shooters is a staple of DeVries’ gameplan. Heading into the contest with Siena, Indiana ranked 31st in the country with 10.8 3-pointers per game. Makes from the beyond the arc accounted for nearly 38% of the Cream and Crimson’s points.
But in the second half, things began to go awry. Siena sophomore guard Gavin Doty scored 10 points in the first nine minutes of the half. Doty scored on back-to-back possessions to cap off a 6-0 Saints run that brought the deficit to just 15 points and gave them an 11-point edge in second-half scoring with 11:21 to play.
“Second half we weren't quite as stingy defensively, and we're taking the ball out of the net a lot more, and the game really just slowed down at that point,” DeVries said.
Indiana shot 1 for 20 from beyond the arc in the second half against Chicago State. But instead of firing off a barrage of longballs, the Hoosiers took another approach to spurn the Saints.
Conerway doubled the next-closest Hoosier in second half scoring, and he did it without attempting a 3-pointer. Rather, he put his head down, drove to the basket and scored at the rim. Whether it was a reverse layup or a tough finish through contact, the Burleson, Texas, native put on a clinic in tenacity.
“We seen there was a couple people that we could attack off the dribble,” Conerway said. “Coach believed in me and thought I could get by the first one, and I had some teammates that set some good screens and got me open, and it just happened to work out good.”
In addition to creating easy scoring opportunities, dribble penetration forces the defense inside. Slashing to the rim invites contact, and driving often frees cutters and shooters to take advantage. The Cream and Crimson attempted a season-high 30 free throws, and Conerway and Wilkerson frequently found the open man. The pair dished four assists each.
Wilkerson ended with a game-high 23 points, while Conerway and Tucker DeVries tallied 16 points each. DeVries added 11 rebounds to earn his second double-double of the season, and Dorn added one triple in the second half to finish with 11 points.
While the Hoosiers fended off Siena’s early second-half push, they were still outscored 40-35 in the final frame. With Big Ten play looming, Darian DeVries must snuff out the inconsistencies that have plagued his squad.
“It was a couple good learning lessons in there,” DeVries said. “We just have to make sure that we learn from them.”
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.
