James Blackmon Jr. netted 24 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the Indiana Hoosiers cruised past the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 90-71, in a Big Ten Conference bout at Assembly Hall.
Troy Williams contributed 19 points with nine boards for Indiana (18-8, 8-5 Big Ten), and Robert Johnson added 19 points of his own in the win. The Hoosiers have been victorious in two of their last three games.
Andre Hollins scored 23 points to pace Minnesota (16-10, 5-8), which saw a three-game win streak come to an end. Maurice Walker, Joey King and DeAndre Mathieu all collected 12 points apiece in the defeat.
Both teams were hot in the first half shooting the ball. Indiana connected on 55.2 percent of its attempts from the floor, including 8-of-17 from 3-point range, to take a 44-38 lead into the intermission. Minnesota hit on 53.6 percent of its tries in the frame.
The Hoosiers boosted their accuracy to 64 percent in the second half, adding in 10-of-15 from beyond the arc. The Golden Gophers dropped to 44 percent shooting in the period, hitting just 2-of-11 from distance to allow the hosts to pull way ahead.
Indiana scored a whopping 54 points from 3-point range, while Minnesota only made six 3-pointers in the contest. The Hoosiers also held a 35-16 advantage on the glass in the win.
[SportsNetwork.com]
