At the Buzzer: Indiana 74, Chattanooga 65

  • Dec 21, 2024 2:06 pm
 

Quick thoughts on a 74-65 win against Chattanooga:

How it happened

It was another poor defensive performance for Indiana in the first half against Chattanooga. The Hoosiers were content with trading baskets with the Mocs for most of the opening 20 minutes and allowed 38 points (1.16 points per possession). Trey Bonham (nine points) and Honor Huff (eight points) gave Indiana trouble off the dribble and the Mocs were 6-for-13 on 3s, good for 46.2 percent. Mackenzie Mgbako, who continued his defensive struggles, led the Hoosiers with nine first-half points while Kanaan Carlyle added eight points in 15 minutes off the bench. Despite offering little defensive resistance, Indiana went to the locker room with a 41-38 lead.

The Hoosiers had better energy to begin the second half and stretched the lead to nine at 51-42 on an Oumar Ballo layup at the 16:49 mark. The Mocs, however, converted a 3-point play by Bash Wieland and got a 3-pointer from Huff to cut the lead to 53-48 at the under 16-media timeout. Indiana stretched the lead to 13 on a Malik Reneau dunk with 12:37 left, but the Mocs continued to hang around. Chattanooga cut the lead to five again at 64-59 on another 3-pointer from Huff, his sixth of the game. After Trey Galloway split a pair of free throws to break a six-plus minute scoring drought for the Hoosiers, Wieland cut IU’s lead to four with a tough bank shot with 3:09 left. Mgbako answered on the next possession with a layup to make it 67-61 with 2:50 to go. The Mocs cut it to four on a pair of Frank Champion free throws with 1:51 remaining. However, Indiana scored on its next three possessions to extend the lead to eight and put the game out of reach for its ninth win ahead of an eight-day break for Christmas.

Standout performer

Reneau led Indiana with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in 27 minutes. The Hoosiers were +18 when he was on the floor.

Statistics that stand out

The Hoosiers were better defensively in the second half, limiting the Mocs to 33.3 percent shooting and .794 points per possession.

Final IU individual statistics

Final tempo-free statistics

Assembly Call postgame show

Category: Commentary

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