No. 3/5 Hoosiers Fall in Overtime at Fort Wayne, 71-68

Tuesday, November 22

Fort Wayne, IN

9:00 PM

Indiana University

3-1

Fort Wayne

3-2

OT 1

Indiana

Fort Wayne

No. 3/5 Hoosiers Fall in Overtime at Fort Wayne, 71-68

11/22/2016 11:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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FORT WAYNE, Indiana - On Tuesday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, No. 3/5 Indiana rallied form double-digit deficits twice to tie the game and even take the lead in the second half but ended up dropping a 71-68 decision in overtime to the Fort Wayne Mastodons.

The Hoosiers (3-1) had four players reach double figures in the scoring column, led by Thomas Bryant's 18 points and 12 rebounds – his fourth career double-double and second of the year – as he played a career-high 37 minutes. Robert Johnson tallied 16 points and six rebounds while James Blackmon Jr. and Josh Newkirk both added 13 points

Indiana shot 40.3 percent from the floor for the game while out-rebounding the 'Dons by a 43-39 margin and had a 15-9 edge in second chance points.

The Mastodons opened the game on a 13-3 run to take the 10-point lead just four minutes into the game. But the Hoosiers would respond over the reminder of the half, thwarting numerous attempts by Fort Wayne to try to pull away. IU used back-to-back buckets in the final 38 seconds of the half to cut the deficit to just two points at 38-36 as the teams headed to the locker room.

Robert Johnson paced the IU offense in the first half with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

In the second half, Fort Wayne extended its lead to 42-37 with 17:24 left but a 6-0 Indiana run capped by an old fashioned 3-point play by Thomas Bryant with 16:05 remaining put the Hoosiers ahead by one point for the first time in the game.

But the Mastodons responded with a 20-7 run to surge out to a 12-point lead, 61-49, with 9:49 left.

Indiana would not go away and came back with a run of their own, and it started on the defensive end, as they held Fort Wayne to just four points the final 9:49 and with two free throws by Bryant, Indiana evened the score at 65-65 to force ovetime.

In the overtime session, the Mastodons got a 3-pointer on their first possession but Robert Johnson followed with a triple of his own to tie the game once again. Fort Wayne would split a pair of free throws with 1:19 left in OT to take a 69-68 lead and then extended the lead to three points after the Hoosiers missed an opportunity at the free throw line and were forced to foul.

The Hoosiers return home to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday when they host Mississippi Valley State at 4 p.m. in the final game of the Indiana Classic.