IU Coach Tom Crean wasn’t exactly sure how his team would respond to adversity.
IU hadn’t been there yet. The Hoosiers had never been pushed.
But Indianapolis came out quick Monday, building an 11-point lead just under five minutes into the game. Crean said his players might not have understood just how quick Indianapolis would be.
“We hadn’t answered that aggressive call yet, and until we’re in those situations, they don’t really know what that means,” Crean said.
IU responded well to its first taste of adversity, chipping away at the UIndy lead.
IU used a 22-0 run to close out the first half to take a controlling 42-28 lead at halftime and held on to win 76-63 in its final preseason game of the season.
“Nobody panicked,” Crean said.
The game’s decisive 22-point swing came during a period in which the Hoosiers held the Greyhounds scoreless from the 7:37 mark in the first half until 19:33 remained in the second half.
The run was prompted by a pair of technical free throws awarded to IU after UIndy forward Joe Lawson was issued a technical foul for ?hanging onto the rim after a dunk to give the Greyhounds a 28-20 lead.
The Hoosiers’ dominant run included a combined four 3-pointers by junior guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell and freshman guards James Blackmon Jr. and Rob Johnson and an emphatic dunk by Blackmon over a Greyhound defender.
Johnson registered a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while spending time at point guard for the second consecutive game.
He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor and was 2-of-2 from 3-point range. Nine of his 10 rebounds were defensive boards, which Crean complimented more than his offensive output.
Johnson said competing for rebounds comes easy to him after growing up in a family with three brothers and playing against the likes of Ferrell and Blackmon each day in practice.
“Coming into the game, (rebounding was) something we wanted to focus on,” Johnson said. “When you’re going against guys like Yogi and James at certain drills, it just brings the best out of ?everybody.”
IU was once again without a pair of forwards in sophomore Troy Williams and freshman Emmitt Holt, as well as sophomore guard Stanford Robinson, who were all serving the second game of four-game suspensions.
The Hoosiers once again started a four-guard lineup and struggled throughout the night with rebounding and turnovers.
UIndy outrebounded IU 41-35 and grabbed 22 rebounds on the offensive end.
One particular sequence in the opening minutes of the second half saw UIndy pick up three offensive rebounds in one possession.
“There were a lot of long rebounds,” Crean said. “They were very physical. They were able to win the jumping ?contest.”
With the season-opening game against Mississippi Valley State scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Crean said he was pleased with the way his team competed even with a thin bench.
The next step will be carrying it over into the regular season.
“This game was very good for us,” Crean said.
