Preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis recorded 15 points and seven rebounds to help No. 13 Indiana cruise to an 88-53 victory over visiting Morehead State in the season opener for both teams Monday at Bloomington, Ind.
Malik Reneau also scored 15 points in his college debut as Indiana improved to 6-0 all-time against Morehead State. Jordan Geronimo added 10 points for the Hoosiers.
Mark Freeman scored 14 points in the first half for Morehead State but sat out the second with a twisted ankle. Drew Thelwell added 11 for the Eagles, who committed 21 turnovers to Indiana’s 10.
The Hoosiers shot 61 percent from the field, including 4 of 11 (36.4 percent) from 3-point range, and led by as many as 37 points.
Morehead State connected on 37 percent of its shots and 9 of 30 from behind the arc.
Jackson-Davis scored 13 first-half points to help the Hoosiers hold a 41-29 lead. Morehead State was hurt by 13 turnovers.
Indiana led 16-9 after a dunk by Jackson-Davis before Morehead State scored the next eight points. Freeman capped the run to give the Eagles a 17-16 edge with 12 minutes to go in the half.
Tamar Bates scored the next five points to give the Hoosiers a four-point edge before Freeman converted a four-point play to tie it at 21 with 9:17 remaining before the break.
But Morehead State committed seven turnovers while going scoreless for 5 1/2 minutes. Indiana cashed in with 13 consecutive points, including a layup by Jackson-Davis to take a 34-21 lead with 4:16 remaining in the half.
Tucson Redding drilled a 3-pointer with 3:47 left to end the Eagles’ drought. But the Hoosiers rattled off seven more straight points with Jackson-Davis’ three-point play pushing the lead to 41-24 with one minute left.
The Hoosiers led by 12 at the break and then tallied the first six of the second half to make it 47-29.
Miller Kopp made two 3-pointers during a span of 1:17 and the latter one pushed the lead to 20 for the first time at 59-39 with 11:28 left.
A layup by Reneau pushed the lead over 30 and made it 75-44 with 6:44 remaining.
–Field Level Media