BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Kel’el Ware scored 16 of his career-high 20 points in the second half, Xavier Johnson added 19 points, including four free throws in the final minute, and Indiana beat Army 72-64 Sunday night.
Malik Reneau had 10 of his 14 points in the second half for Indiana (2-0).
TJ Small and Ryan Curry each hit a 3-pointer in a 12-4 run that made it 58-all when Blake Barker's layup capped the spurt with 3:46 to play. Ware made the first of two free throws to give the Hoosiers the lead for good 26 seconds later and after he missed the second, Johnson grabbed the offensive rebound. Reneau made two foul shots and then blocked a layup attempt at the other end and secured the rebound before Gabe Cupps hit a 3-pointer to made it a six-point game with 2 minutes to play.
Josh Scovens made a 3 to trim Army's deficit to 64-61 with 1:47 left but Reneau hit two free throws, Ware stole the ball and then threw down an alley-oop dunk — from Trey Galloway to stretch the the lead to seven with 58 seconds remaining.
Curry finished with 20 points, including four 3-pointers, and Barker scored 14 for Army (0-3).
Indiana wraps up a three-game home stand to open the season Thursday against Wright State before head to New York to face No. 6 Connecticut at the Saatva Empire Classic. Army returns home to face Quinnipiac on Thursday.
Indiana 72, Army 64
ARMY (0-3) — Peterson 3-9 2-4 9, Scovens 3-9 0-0 8, Barker 5-13 1-2 14, Curry 8-13 0-0 20, Davis 1-3 0-0 2, Cross 1-6 0-0 3, A.Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Small 1-6 0-0 3, Blair 1-1 0-0 3, Allenspach 1-1 0-3 2. Totals: 24-61 3-9 64.
INDIANA (2-0) — Mgbako 1-2 0-0 2, Reneau 4-8 6-7 14, Ware 9-11 2-3 20, Galloway 2-3 1-3 5, X.Johnson 4-8 9-9 19, Cupps 2-5 0-0 5, Banks 1-1 0-0 3, Gunn 0-2 0-0 0, Sparks 1-2 0-0 2, Walker 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 25-43 18-22 72.
Halftime—Indiana 32-31. 3-Point Goals—Army 13-38 (Curry 4-8, Barker 3-9, Scovens 2-6, Blair 1-1, Cross 1-4, Small 1-4, Peterson 1-5, Davis 0-1), Indiana 4-11 (X.Johnson 2-4, Banks 1-1, Cupps 1-4, Gunn 0-1, Reneau 0-1). Rebounds—Army 22 (Scovens 5), Indiana 25 (Reneau 7). Assists—Army 16 (Curry 4), Indiana 16 (Reneau, X.Johnson 5). Total Fouls—Army 22, Indiana 14. A—17,222 (17,222).
