Wilkerson Leads Charge in Record Night

Tuesday, December 9

Bloomington, Ind.

8:30 PM

Indiana University

8-2,1-1Big Ten

113

Penn State

8-2,0-1Big Ten

Penn St.

Indiana

113

12/9/2025 10:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Who needs balanced scoring when Lamar Wilkerson is hitting everything?

Can't-miss mode rocked Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Tuesday night. Penn State (8-2) had no answer for Indiana's veteran guard who shot and shot and shot some more, no problem because he made and made and made some more.

Wilkerson's career-high 44 points, including 10-for-15 from 3-point range, propelled the Hoosiers (8-2) to a 113-72 victory that ended their two-game losing streak, evened their Big Ten record at 1-1, and provided a big momentum boost entering Saturday night's much-anticipated game at Kentucky (6-4).

Wilkerson's total set the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall single-game record. His 10 3-pointers were a program single-game record.

"All credit to my teammates and coaches," Wilkerson said. "I got hot. My teammates saw one, two, three go in and they kept feeding me and the shots kept going in.

"The hoop looked as big as the ocean, so I kept throwing it up."

Added forward Reed Bailey: "We knew he could do it. When he gets hot, we try to get him open shots. He works his butt off. We saw it coming."

Wilkerson, who added four rebounds and four assists in his 24 minutes, was so hot Tuesday night that his eighth 3-pointer, coming five minutes Into the second half, left teammate Tucker DeVries smiling and shaking his head. His ninth a minute later brought the smiles to Trent Sisley. His 10th got IU to the 100-point mark for the fourth time this season.

"He's had a couple of nights where he's struggled," coach Darian DeVries said, "but I was never worried. He has that confidence. He puts in the work. It was fun to showcase all that work he puts in.

"It was great for him. Even good shooters can overthink and start to press. When he gets one or two go down, you see the relief. After that, it was just fun. We need him. He's an important piece. When we get him going and it get others involved, that's when offensively you can have a night like this."

Wilkerson wasn't the only Hoosier torching the Nittany Lions. Bailey was 6-for-6 from the field for 18 points. He added five rebounds.

Guard Tayton Conerway had 17 points, seven assists, and three rebounds. Forward Tucker DeVries had 12 points and six assists. Guard Nick Dorn added 13 points.

Two straight losses delivered one lineup change -- Sam Alexis started at forward in place of Bailey.

"It wasn't that anyone had done anything wrong," Darian DeVries said. "It was more trying to create a spark. Reed responded great, as I knew he would. It freed him up a little bit. A chance for Sam to utilize his physicality. Reed was very aggressive."

Indiana's dominance included a 26-12 edge in points off turnovers. It had 30 assists against 10 turnovers, shot 69 percent from the field and totaled 17 3-pointers. The Hoosiers scored their most points since getting 118 against Iowa in 1990. The program record is 122.

A 20-2 run in just over four first-half minutes gave IU control it never lost. Its 58-26 halftime lead left Darian DeVries devising ways to maintain second-half intensity.

The Hoosiers did.

"We had lost the last two," Wilkerson said, "so we were coming as a team, collective, trying to get back to the way we were playing. The ball was just going in."

Wilkerson opened the game with three straight 3-pointers. Conerway followed with one of his own. IU jumped to a 12-5 lead in less than three minutes. A second Conerway 3-pointer off a Conor Enright assist, and then a Bailey layup made it 17-9. A feed from Conerway to Bailey for a dunk and then baskets from Tucker DeVries and Wilkerson gave the Hoosiers a 23-12 lead.

Two more Wilkerson two-point baskets and then another 3-pointer made it 30-12 and forced a Penn State timeout, which didn't help. The Hoosiers pushed ahead 39-15, then 55-23 before reaching halftime with a 58-26 lead. Wilkerson led with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range.

Wilkerson added another long 3-pointer after a Conerway layup a minute into the second half as the Hoosiers poured it on.

"It was getting back to how we had played basketball," Bailey said. "Just keep being ourselves, whether it was being more physical or sharing the ball. Then, playing with an edge, playing with effort, and having fun."