BLOOMINGTON, Ind — On Tuesday night in Indiana’s first contest of the post Romeo Langford era, the Hoosiers overcame a close first half battle to defeat the Gannon Golden Knights 84-54 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis won the tip for the Hoosiers and the team got things started right away. Indiana got the ball out in transition which led to baskets by Armaan Franklin, Damezi Anderson, and Jackson-Davis. Indiana jumped out to a 12-2 lead less than three minutes into the contest bringing the Hoosier crowd into it.
Indiana’s offense worked the ball inside throughout the first half using their size in the post with De’Ron Davis, Joey Brunk and Jackson-Davis extending their lead to 22-12 at the 10:33 mark in the first half.
From that point on Indiana stalled offensively, limited player movement and turnovers caused the Hoosiers to lose momentum as the half dwindled down. Gannon took advantage of Indiana’s miscues and took the lead 27-26 with 2:52 remaining in the half.
Indiana was not down for long as a couple of baskets and then a three-point jumper by Rob Phinisee aided in the Hoosiers going on a seven-to-zero run to go into the half up 37-29.
Offensively, Indiana shot 47 percent from the field and 25 percent from the three-point line, but it was 22 points in the paint that helped keep them in the lead by half.
Indiana’s three-point defense kept Gannon from doing damage from behind the arc during the first half. The Golden Knights were held to just 14 percent from the three-point line, shooting one-for-seven.
