Blackmon Jr. leads Indiana past No. 22 SMU
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bloomington, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Freshman James Blackmon Jr. scored 26 points on 5-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc to lead Indiana to a 74-68 win over No. 22 SMU at Assembly Hall.
Yogi Ferrell netted 13 points with seven assists, Troy Williams tallied 11 points off the bench and Nick Zeisloft added 10 points for the Hoosiers (3-0), who won their fifth straight home game over a ranked opponent.
Ben and Nic Moore scored 16 and 13 points, respectively, in the setback. The Mustangs (1-2) have now dropped their last two games after Monday's 72-56 loss at No. 13 Gonzaga.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You gotta give them credit," SMU coach Larry Brown said of Indiana. "They are really unselfish. They play real hard."
Sterling Brown's layup broke a 50-50 tie with over nine minutes to play in the game. Blackmon followed with a 3-pointer that ignited a 10-0 run. Hanner Mosquera-Perea split a pair of free throws, then Ryan Manuel was called for a charge after a thunderous dunk. Coming out of a timeout, Collin Hartman nailed a corner trey and Zeisloft buried a 3 on the Hoosiers' next possession to make it a 60-52 game with 6 1/2 minutes left.
The Mustangs scored six straight points minutes later to cut the margin to two but after a Williams free throw, Ben Moore fouled Blackmon Jr. shooting a 3 and the latter knocked down each attempt for a 67-61 lead. Cannen Cunningham answered with a jumper, however, Ferrell buried a corner 3 with 1:59 remaining as the Hoosiers held on for the win.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SMU shot over 56 percent from the floor, but it committed 19 turnovers, with Ben Moore and Cunningham leading the way with four apiece.
"The great thing about our team is we have such great shooters that when it wasn't falling, none of our heads went down," said Ferrell.
Earlier, Nic Moore's 3-pointer started a 13-3 run that helped the visitors to a 20-8 lead prior to the midway point of the first half.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ferrell's 3 later in the half preceded Zeisloft's four-point play as Indiana cut the deficit to 22-17 and worked its way back into the game. The Hoosiers took the lead when Williams capped a 9-0 run for a 29-27 lead with five minutes left until half. Williams then scored the final four points of the frame to help the hosts to a 38-33 advantage at the break.
Game Notes
Indiana is 13-2 against ranked opponents at home since the start of 2011-12 ... SMU looks to get back in the win column at home on Saturday against Eastern Washington ... The Mustangs outrebounded Indiana 40-27 ... The Hoosiers host Lamar on Saturday.