Indiana returned to winning ways Saturday, edging out Chattanooga 74-67 despite a long scoring drought.
It was never comfortable for the Hoosiers. The Mocs jumped out to a seven-point lead with 12:42 to play in the first half, sparked by their three-point shooting. Chattanooga knocked down five of their first nine triples for a 21-14 lead.
Head coach Mike Woodson was not pleased with the way his starting unit began the contest. Indiana were out of sorts defensively as Chattanooga was able to create open looks with quick passing.
Capitalizing on those open shots proved easy as the Mocs finished the first half with six made 3-pointers.
“Their movement caused problems for us,” Woodson said. The speed at which the Mocs swung the rock was difficult to match defensively as Chattanooga finished the first half with six triples made.
After trading the lead back-and-forth numerous times, the Hoosiers generated enough offense to take a 41-38 lead into the half. Bryson Tucker knocked down an important midrange jumper on Indiana’s final possession.
Woodson praised his bench, which he felt secured Indiana the victory. In total, they accounted for 25 of the 74 team’s points, a third of Indiana’s scoring.
“Our bench was pretty good for us. I probably should’ve played them the whole game,” he said.
Tucker’s bucket seemed to settle the Hoosiers down. Indiana opened up a nine-point lead and forced the Mocs into taking a timeout with 16:46 to play. Malik Reneau, who, along with Mackenzie Mgbako, led the Hoosiers in scoring with 14, would then give Indiana their biggest lead of the game.
After a quick steal, Reneau brought Assembly Hall to life with an emphatic slam dunk over Frank Champion. The highlight-reel play extended the lead to 13.
That’s where the Hoosiers’ momentum started to plateau. Indiana would go without a made field goal for the next 9:47.
“That’s two games in a row we’ve had stretches like that,” Woodson said, referencing the Hoosier’s six-minute field goal drought to close their loss at Nebraska. “As the coach, I got to get us over that hump.”
Chattanooga would reduce the deficit to seven as Indiana continued to struggle stopping the three-ball.
The Mocs knocked down ten three-pointers on the day, helping keep them right on Indiana’s heels.
Needing a spark from somewhere, Reneau provided just that. Some stingy defense, spearheaded by an energized Reneau, helped push Indiana over the finish line.
“(Defensive intensity) is definitely important, " Reneau said post game, adding he made an effort to be a defensive spark plug for the Hoosiers.
Reneau, Myles Rice and Galloway would each lay a basket in to put the game to bed, improving the Hoosiers to 9-3 on the year..
Now 8-2 in non-conference play and remaining undefeated at home, Indiana has one more game before the bulk of their Big Ten schedule begins.
They’ll close out their non-conference schedule Dec. 29 at home against Winthrop. Despite the holidays coming up, the work doesn’t stop for Woodson’s crew.
Woodson will give his guys two days off before returning for practice on Dec. 26.
“(The players) get two days off then you gotta come back and go to work,” Woodson said.
