Sam Alexis scored 16 points off the bench to lead Indiana to a 69-61 win over Incarnate Word on Sunday in Bloomington, Ind.
After scoring 299 points in its first three games and reaching the 100-point mark twice, Indiana was held in check Sunday. It shot just 20.8% from 3-point range (5 of 24) and 43.4% overall.
Tucker DeVries added 14 points for Indiana (4-0). Trent Sisley scored 10, and both Alexis and Sisley corralled eight rebounds.
Tahj Staveskie scored 17 points and Jordan Pyke had 16 points for Incarnate Word (2-2), which shot 38.3% from the field (23 of 60) and was outrebounded 42-29.
Indiana saw Incarnate Word cut what was a 19-point second-half lead down to six points at 54-48 with 5:43 remaining.
The Hoosiers stretched their lead back to double digits at 64-54 with 2:22 left after a 3-pointer by DeVries, but Incarnate Word responded with five straight to make it 64-59 with 1:21 left.
After two free throws by Indiana’s Lamar Wilkerson, Incarnate Word trimmed it to 66-61 on a basket by Pyke with 13.5 seconds remaining.
Following one made free throw by Alexis, Incarnate Word missed a 3-pointer with less than two seconds left and Wilkerson rebounded it to seal the Hoosiers’ win.
Indiana went on a 7-1 surge to take a 48-29 lead after a pair of free throws by DeVries with 12:47 left.
Incarnate Word didn’t go away quietly, going on an 11-4 spurt. Harrison Reede hit a 3-pointer through contact and added a free throw to cut Indiana’s lead to 52-40 with 8:35 remaining.
Incarnate Word then shaved Indiana’s lead to 54-48 with 5:43 remaining after a 3-pointer by Davion Bailey (10 points).
Trailing 12-11 early in the first half, Indiana started to separate itself by embarking on a 20-2 run over a span of about 7:30. The Hoosiers took a 31-14 lead following a 3-pointer by Sisley.
They led by as many as 18 points in the first half before holding a 35-19 lead at halftime.
