Malik Reneau established a career high for the second straight game, scoring 34 points Friday night as Indiana outgunned Kennesaw State 100-87 in Bloomington, Ind.
Coming off a 25-point outing in a one-sided win over North Alabama Dec. 21, Reneau made 13 of 19 attempts from the field and 7 of 11 at the foul line as the Hoosiers upped their record to 10-3. He led six players in double figures and also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Trey Galloway and Mackenzie Mgbako each added 14 points, while Kaleb Banks hit for 12. Payton Sparks and Anthony Walker tallied 10 points apiece as Indiana made 61 percent of its field goals including 19 of 28 after halftime.
And the Hoosiers needed a good deal of that to hold off the Owls (9-5), who trailed by 13 points in the first half but rallied and took a 68-64 edge with 13:16 left when Terrell Burden made a 3-pointer. But Reneau’s layup just over a minute later gave Indiana the lead for good.
Simeon Cottle scored 21 points for Kennesaw State, while Burden finished with 20 points and nine assists. Jusaun Holt added 19 points and nine rebounds before fouling out.
Indiana came out blazing, hitting nine of its first 10 shots from the field and taking a 22-13 lead less than six minutes into the game when Galloway converted a putback. Mgbako led the run by canning three 3-pointers in the first 2:11.
The Hoosiers upped their advantage to 37-24 with 7:44 remaining when CJ Gunn made a layup. But Kennesaw State used the 3-point line to work its way into contention before halftime. The Owls canned four 3-pointers in the last 6:24.
When Burden converted a layup with 35 seconds on the clock, Kennesaw State closed within 48-46. Even two foul shots by Banks pushed Indiana’s edge to only 50-46 at the break.
The difference was that the Hoosiers were 11 of 15 at the line, while the Owls made 1 of 2.
–Field Level Media