Top playmakers lead IU past Nicholls State

After a sloppy first half that saw his team have more turnovers (11) than field goals (9) IU Coach Tom Crean turned the game over to his playmakers.

Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, senior forward Will Sheehey and sophomore forward Jeremy Hollowell combined for 26 points in the second half of IU’s victory over Nicholls State Friday. Ferrell added seven assists without a turnover after committing four with just one assist in the game’s first 20 minutes.

“I thought we had some guys play the way we need them to play,” Crean said. “We
made progress tonight. I thought Yogi Ferrell had an outstanding game, not only because he had eight assists but because of the pace that he played at on both ends.”

The trio’s 44 points accounted for more than half of the Hoosiers’ 79 points against the Colonels on a night that saw no other IU players reach double-digit scoring. Ferrell led the way with 16 points while Sheehey and Hollowell added 14 of their own.

Much of the trio’s scoring came in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but a run sparked by Ferrell and Sheehey put the Colonels away for good in the game’s final eight minutes.

Two Sheehey three-pointers – one off a Ferrell assist – sandwiched a Ferrell-assisted layup from freshman guard Stanford Robinson to stretch the Hoosier lead to 19.

Sheehey said the sophomore point guard’s ability to distribute the ball enabled the Hoosier run.

“There’s always points in the game when you can seek it out and pick and choose when to open the game up,” he said. “Yogi made a great play on the ball to find me. When he gets to the lane and makes plays for everybody else, it’s pretty easy to play.”

With 12 games played, Ferrell (16.1 points per game), Sheehey (10.5) and Hollowell (9.2) sit at first, third and fourth in scoring for IU, respectively. Freshman forward Noah Vonleh is second on the team with 11.8 points per game.

Despite the trio’s dominance of the Hoosier scoring charts both Friday and all season, Sheehey said it remains critical to have contributions from every player.

“We have 18 guys for a reason. Those guys need to come in and play as hard as
they can and give certain guys breaks and whatnot,” Sheehey said. “The 18 guys on the team just have to be ready to be called on at any time.”