Indiana University
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Ottawa (Exhibition)
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IU Keeps Throttle Down, Beats Ottawa
11/3/2015 8:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head coach Tom Crean wanted his team to keep the throttle down in games this season.
Consider the pedal to the metal.
No. 15 Indiana opened against Ottawa on a 17-4 advantage and closed on a 25-3 run to finalize an 82-54 victory at Assembly Hall on Tuesday. The Hoosiers were forced to adjust throughout the contest, fending off a second-half comeback as the top-ranked college team in Canada started offering different looks offensively and defensively.
But as the game went along, Indiana found the response Crean said they needed to close out the win.
"The highlights of the night for me are the way we came back," Crean said. "There's so many things that happen within the game when momentum is up for grabs…We didn't do it as quickly as we would have liked, but we adjusted in the second half."
Indiana's adjustments proved crucial in handing the Gee-Gee's their second consecutive loss while also holding them to their fewest points scored all season. The win was a redemption of sorts for the Hoosiers, who fell to Ottawa during last year's foreign trip to Canada during the preseason.
Midway through the second half, Ottawa's shooters began to heat up and cut Indiana's lead to just six points with 9:13 remaining in the game. Within Indiana's huddle and during breaks in the action, players reminded one another just how dangerous the Gee-Gee's were and how important it was to stymie their comeback and finish the game.
In response, Indiana closed on a 25-3 run, hitting five 3-pointers over that span, and held Ottawa to just 2-of-16 shooting to end the game.
"Guys that were here last year, we all talked about (last year's game)," sophomore guard James Blackmon Jr said. He led Indiana scorers with 15 points. "We knew how much it meant to us, and when they made that run on us we talked it out. We just wanted to shut that down."
Crean told his team in the locker room after the game that he wants them to form an identity, especially defensively. The way Indiana played in the final stretch was a step forward in forming that identity Crean hopes carries over into the regular season.
"It's hard to do," Crean said, "but bottom line, creating an identity with the defense, with the pressure and not only bringing fatigue to the game, but playing through it on our end and getting good, quality shots and playing with tremendous energy."
Indiana held Ottawa to just 5-of-26 (29 percent) shooting from 3-point range after entering the game shooting at a 43 percent clip. Meanwhile, Indiana shot 8-of-20 (40 percent) from beyond the arc on the other end.
Three other Hoosiers—Troy Williams (12), Thomas Bryant (12) and Yogi Ferrell (11)—joined Blackmon as double-digit scorers. Bryant also finished with a team-high 11 rebounds, finishing with a double-double in his first game at Assembly Hall.
Bryant teamed with fifth-year senior Max Bielfeldt, who finished with eight points and eight rebounds, to hold down the Indiana post. The two started alongside each other, showing the potential flexibility in this year's lineups that Crean said will change over time.
"I love playing with Thomas," Bielfeldt said. "He's such a physical presence down there. I kind of bring a physical presence in different ways. With me and him down there, it's fun to be attacking the offensive glass and being rebounding buddies almost."
Though only an exhibition Crean was pleased with the way his team responded against an Ottawa team he regards highly. Indiana's next test is continuing to build on its identity against Bellarmine at 7 p.m. next Monday at Assembly Hall.
Bielfeldt said Tuesday's win was rewarding because of the way Indiana responded late and the stretches where the Hoosiers managed to pull away. Yet, he still didn't leave Assembly hall completely pleased. The veteran player knows better than that.
It was only one game on early November. Sustained success will be key.
"It was our first game playing against somebody else, but I think we did adapt really well," Bielfeldt said. "Kind of going back and forth in the first half and we really adapted well to push that out and show what we can do."
TIP-INS: Crean wished longtime Indiana public address announcer Chuck Crabb a happy birthday during the pregame. Crabb turned 65 Tuesday…Blackmon recorded Indiana's first points of the exbitiion season on a 3-pointer off a Bielfeldt assist…Junior guard Collin Hartman, who is dealing with a rib injury, played 17 minutes and showed little sign of discomfort…The Canadian Interuniversity Sport preseason poll came out Tuesday. Ottawa was ranked No. 1 in Canada.
