Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako each scored 14 points Saturday as Indiana stopped visiting Chattanooga 74-65 in a nonconference game in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers (9-3) canned 50 percent of their shots from the field and earned a 37-29 advantage on the boards, which was enough to offset 5-of-20 3-point shooting and 11-of-20 foul shooting. They also owned a 36-24 advantage in points in the paint.
Honor Huff scored a game-high 20 points for the Mocs (8-5), nailing 6 of 12 3-pointers. Trey Bonham and Bash Wieland added 11, but it wasn’t enough to avoid just their second loss in 10 games. Chattanooga made only 10 of 30 shots in the second half, including 4 of 15 from the 3-point line.
Still, the Mocs whittled a 13-point second half deficit down to four on multiple occasions, the last coming with 1:05 left when Bonham hit a short jumper in the lane to make it 69-65. But Myles Rice and Trey Galloway converted layups to help Indiana stave off the upset bid.
Reneau and Oumar Ballo each grabbed eight rebounds for the Hoosiers, while Mgbako hit 3 of 4 from the 3-point line. Frank Champion doled out a game-high six assists for Chattanooga.
Indiana came into the game as a 14 1/2-point favorite but couldn’t generate any separation from its Southern Conference opponent in a tight first half that saw both teams shoot the ball well.
Collin Mulholland drilled a 3-pointer at the 12:42 mark to give Chattanooga its largest lead at 21-14. It was one of six 3s in the first half for the Mocs, which entered the game as one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in Division I at 31.3 percent.
They were able to maintain that lead until Kanaan Carlyle’s mid-range jumper with 5:42 left put the Hoosiers up 29-28. From that point, the teams swapped the advantage until Reneau and Carlyle scored in the final minute to give Indiana a 41-38 edge at halftime.
–Field Level Media
