(INDIANA RELEASE)
LINCOLN, Neb. – Trayce Jackson-Davis came to Indiana’s rescue.
Would you expect anything less from one of the nation’s best players?
Another second-half surge from the 6-9 sophomore forward, which led to another double-double, pushed the Hoosiers (8-5 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten) to an 84-76 victory over Nebraska Sunday night at the Pinnacle Center.
“Trayce emerged when we needed him the most,” coach Archie Miller said.
Facing an undersized Husker team that has now lost 21 straight Big Ten games (four to the Hoosiers), Jackson-Davis scored, rebounded and blocked shots under crunch-time pressure.
He finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two assists against a swarming Nebraska defense that made it tough for IU to get him the ball.
“Teams will do that,” Miller said. “They will trap Trayce every time he touches the ball.”
Jackson-Davis has four straight double-doubles and six on the season. He leads the nation in free throws made (79) and attempted (111).
At times the Huskers (4-8, 0-5) were so focused on not letting Jackson-Davis beat them, they left other Hoosiers open. In the first half, guards Rob Phinisee and Aljami Durham combined for 20 shots to Jackson-Davis’ one. His first basket didn’t come until early in the second half.
“Nebraska was the first team to take it to that extreme and let other guys shoot it,” Miller said. “They decided not to guard guys. That can be a little strange, but you’ve got to continue to take (shots).”
Phinisee was a first-half scoring beast, a second-half facilitator.
A minor lower leg injury, combined with foul trouble, slowed his scoring (he finished with a career-high 18 points, 16 in the first half). He hit his first three three-pointers. He has scored in double figures in three of his last four games.
“A little of it was confidence,” Phinisee said about his hot start, “and the way they played defense and packing it in the paint. I had a lot of open shots.”
Durham had 17 points while recording his fourth straight double-figure scoring game.
Strong scoring from Phinisee and Durham was crucial given second-leading scorer Armaan Franklin missed his second straight game because of an ankle sprain.
“He’s a big piece of offense,” Phinisee said, “so we had to step up. We took what the defense gave us.”
That figures to a big priority on Thursday when IU hosts rival Purdue.
“Trayce will continue to deal with double teams,” Miller said. “Our guys will have to be confident when the ball comes out.”
Phinisee and Durham were the biggest benefactors, but five other Hoosiers took at least one three-pointer. IU made nine of them, three more than its season average.
“That’s a pretty good night for us,” Miller said.
A furious Nebraska rally turned IU’s 18-point first-half lead into a late-second-half three-point deficit. That could have brought back memories of close road losses to Florida State, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Instead, IU rose to the challenge.
Miller’s Sunday night goal was simple — “We wanted to execute in the last few minutes of the game better than we did against Wisconsin. I thought we did that.”
Forward Race Thompson had 11 points. Swingman Jerome Hunter had nine points and six rebounds, including a clutch rebound basket off his own miss in the final minutes.
“Jerome’s play was the nail in the coffin,” Miller said.
IU’s 7-for-9 three-point opening shooting was followed by a 1-for-13 stretch before freshman guard Anthony Leal hit a three-pointer for a 69-69 tie with just under seven minutes left.
Indiana’s hot early three-point shooting included freshman guard Khristian Lander, who made his first shot beyond the arc since Dec. 23 against Northwestern. He had only attempted two since that game.
“We’ve worked on shot all season,” Phinisee said. “We took what they gave us.”
IU came out firing. It made seven of its first 10 shots, hit three of four three-pointers, led by Phinisee’s eight points, and jumped ahead 20-8.
The Hoosiers built leads as large as 18. Nebraska cut 10 points off of it before IU settled for a 46-34 halftime advantage. Guard Trey Galloway’s put-back dunk just before the buzzer survived an official’s review.
The Hoosiers led 49-34 early in the second half before a 7-0 Nebraska run cut the lead to single digits. That set up a 14-2 Cornhusker run to leave IU clinging to a 60-58 lead.
A Galloway driving layup ended that run, but not the Nebraska surge. It took a 63-62 lead on a three-pointer with 9:32 left, forcing a Miller timeout.
Nebraska led 69-66 before Leal’s three-pointer and Durham’s floater put IU ahead 71-69.
Jackson-Davis took charge with eight down-the-stretch points. Add Hunter’s clutch follow-up basket and the Hoosiers were able to survive for their first road win of the season.
“We got a couple of key stops, were able to execute, made some key free throws, and won,” Miller said.
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