At the Buzzer: Indiana 69, Morehead State 68

  • 12/19/2023 8:45 pm in

Quick thoughts on a 69-68 win against Morehead State:

How it happened

It was fair to wonder if Indiana would have a letdown after Saturday’s narrow loss to Kansas at Assembly Hall. And that’s exactly what happened. The Hoosiers appeared disinterested from the start and Morehead State took advantage. Indiana shot a dismal 34.4 percent in the first half, allowed seven offensive rebounds and went into the locker room trailing 36-25. Outside of some solid minutes from Anthony Walker, who scored eight points, there weren’t any positives for the Hoosiers in the opening 20 minutes. Kel’el Ware, Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau combined for six points. The final play of the first half was arguably the worst: As Indiana was holding for the last shot, Trey Galloway turned it over, and Eddie Ricks III dunked it on the other end to give the Eagles an 11-point cushion.

The Hoosiers were much better to start the second half as Ware scored eight points to get the Hoosiers within four at 37-33, forcing Morehead State to take a timeout at the 17:42 mark. But Jordan Lathon remained hot for the Eagles, who stretched the lead back to 11 at 53-42 with 12:23 remaining. By the 9:29 mark, Morehead State’s lead was 15 after Reneau fouled Lathon on a 3-pointer and he connected. The Eagles led 64-53 with 7:10 to play at the under-eight media timeout.

An 8-0 run got Indiana within seven and Morehead State called a timeout with 6:16 remaining. A 3-point play by Anthony Walker, which made the run 13-0 for IU, got the Hoosiers within two at 64-62 at the 4:11 mark. Trey Galloway’s 3-pointer gave IU the lead for the first time since 16-15 at the 3:14 mark. The Eagles tied it at 66 on a Kalil Thomas. Indiana led 69-66 after two free throws from Walker and one from Mgbako, but Morehead answered with a Dieonte Miles bucket with 48 seconds left to make it 69-68 Hoosiers. Out of a timeout, Mgbako missed a 3-pointer, but Reneau grabbed the rebound and was fouled on the putback. Reneau missed both free throws. Morehead State called timeout with 24.7 seconds to go. On the final possession, Morehead State ran the clock down to a few seconds and Reneau blocked a long shot attempt from Lathon to secure the win, Indiana’s eighth of the season.

Standout performer

Walker came off the bench and led the Hoosiers with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Galloway added 14 points in 38 minutes.

Statistics that stand out

After trailing by 15 points, Indiana closed the game on a 20-4 run to win. The Hoosiers shot just 3-for-16 on 3s and 16-for-28 from the free throw line.

Final IU individual statistics

Final tempo-free statistics

Assembly Call postgame show

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