Kel’el Ware notched 27 points and 11 rebounds and Malik Reneau hit a go-ahead layup with 55 seconds left to help Indiana defeat Wisconsin 74-70 on Tuesday in Bloomington, Ind.
Indiana (15-13, 7-10 Big Ten) scored the final six points to stop a four-game losing streak. Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako had 14 points apiece.
Wisconsin (18-10, 10-7) forced 12 turnovers while committing just three, but shooting woes down the stretch took a toll. The Badgers missed their final six attempts from the floor, going scoreless after Tyler Wahl’s hook shot gave the visitors a 70-68 lead with 2:06 to go.
Five Wisconsin players finished in double figures. Chucky Hepburn led the way with 15 points. AJ Storr followed with 14, Max Klesmit and John Blackwell each had 11 and Steven Crowl 10.
Ware’s three-point play put the Hoosiers on top 68-65 with 3:13 left, setting up a frantic finish after Wisconsin recovered from early struggles.
Wisconsin faced a 15-point deficit in the first half, but a 12-4 run midway through the second half forced a tie at 54-all. Blackwell punctuated the spurt at the 10:31 mark with the second of two fast-break layups within 29 seconds.
Officials halted the game at the 10:06 mark, as alarms sounded throughout Assembly Hall due to fire in an arena elevator. The building was evacuated before play resumed about 21 minutes later.
Wisconsin remained in sync after a brief warmup period, taking a 56-54 advantage, its first lead of the night, on a Wahl layup with 9:29 left.
Ware sizzled throughout the first half, scoring 20 points on 9-for-10 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds and blocking three shots.
His jumper with 6:09 remaining in the half gave the Hoosiers their largest lead of the night at 32-17.
That’s when the Badgers began to reverse their fortunes. After starting the game 7-for-23 from the floor, Wisconsin hit seven of its next nine field-goal attempts to draw within 38-33 at the break.
Klesmit scored five points during a 10-2 Wisconsin run to end the half.
Xavier Johnson, out since injuring his left elbow in a Jan. 30 win against Iowa, came off the bench for the Hoosiers, contributing five points in 15 minutes.
–Field Level Media