Malik Reneau established career highs of 25 points and four 3-pointers to lead Indiana to an 83-66 victory over North Alabama on Thursday night at Bloomington, Ind.
Mackenzie Mgbako scored 12 points and Anthony Walker added 11 as the Hoosiers (9-3) won their second straight game. Reneau collected seven rebounds and didn’t miss any of his 3-points attempts while Indiana sank a season-best 12 (out of 24 attempts).
Dallas Howell scored 14 points and Jacari Lane added 12 for the Lions (6-7), who fell to 1-6 on the road. KJ Johnson and Tim Smith Jr. added 11 apiece for North Alabama.
The Lions shot 40.6 percent from the field, including 9 of 32 from 3-point range.
Indiana shot 53.4 percent and was a sizzling 15 of 25 (60 percent) in the second half. Reneau was 10 of 14 overall from the field and Trey Galloway recorded nine assists.
The Hoosiers had 25 assists on 31 made baskets in the wire-to-wire victory. Indiana had an 18-7 edge in fast-break points.
The Hoosiers began the second half with a 13-3 run as their lead increased to 56-37 with 14:19 remaining.
The advantage reached 20 for the first time when Mgbako made a 3-pointer to make it 64-44 with 11:51 left.
Reneau’s fourth trey of the game increased the lead to 73-48 with 8:26 remaining.
Walker made a 3-pointer to again make it a 25-point margin with 6:25 left as the Hoosiers closed out the easy triumph.
Reneau scored 16 first-half points, including a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left, to give the Hoosiers a 43-34 lead.
Renaeu’s three-point play gave Indiana an early 15-5 lead. A dunk by Kaleb Banks gave the Hoosiers a 24-11 advantage with 10:34 left in the first half.
North Alabama later pulled within 31-24 on a layup by Johnson with 4:57 left.
Smith made two 3-pointers in the final minute for the Lions, the latter cutting Indiana’s lead to 40-34 with 12 seconds left. Reneau then drilled the trey to make it a nine-point margin.
–Field Level Media