Local Sports Headlines: November 4, 2022

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Indiana University Men’s Basketball cruises past Saint Francis 104-59
The Indiana Hoosiers Men’s Basketball cruised to a 104-59 win over NAIA Saint Francis University from Fort Wayne Thursday night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers placed five players on double figures with Trayce Jackson-Davis leading the way with 19 points and 9 rebounds after missing the first game with a hand injury. Jackson Davis scored on the very first play of the game just five seconds when Xavier Johnson threw a pass inside and Jackson-Davis slammed it home. St Francis and the Hoosiers were tied 11-11 at the under 16-minute timeout and the Hoosiers went on a 42-13 to lead 53-24 at halftime. The Hoosiers scored 51 second half points and Saint Francis scored 35. The Hoosiers open the regular season Monday night when they host Morehead State at 7pm.

The Freshman duo of Jalen Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau scored 15 points each and the duo have shown in these exhibition games the impact that they are going make this season. Hood-Schifino got his second start and was 6-8 from the field, 3-3 from downtown, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, a turnover, a block and a steal. Reneau went to work down low going 7-8 from the field, 1-3 from the free throw line, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Jordan Geronimo and Tamar Bates scored 10 points apiece. Bates returned after missing the first exhibition game with an injury and had several drives to the bucket. Hood-Schifino was throwing great passes and making hustle plays on defense throwing the ball behind is head to keep it from going out of bounds and then on a drive down the floor took the ball behind his back to switch hands score the bucket.

The Hoosiers shot 43-66 from the field for 65%,7-19 from the three-point line for 36% and 11-18 from the free throw line for 61 percent. Coach Woodson has been on the guys about getting those free throws to go down. “Free throws are important. They’re free. I gotta just get these guys to relax and make them.” Woodson said in the post-game press conference. The Hoosiers pulled down 44 rebounds, 22 assists, 12 blocks, 8 steals and 9 turnovers. 10 Players scored for the Hoosiers and 14 played as Freshman Kaleb Banks and Sophomore Logan Duncomb missed the game due to Illness. Walk on Nathan Childress scored 5 points on 2-2 from the field and 1-1 from the free throw line. Coach Mike Woodson knows that he has a deep team and not everyone will get the minutes that they want. “We have a good team so everyone’s going to have to sacrifice to do what we need to do and go where we need to go.” Woodson said.

Saint Francis was led in scoring by Zane Burke with 12 points and Antwaan Cushingberry with 10 points. The biggest ovation of the night went to Junior Brayton Bailey who played at Bedford North Lawrence and the son of Indiana University great Damon Bailey. Brayton scored 6 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds in 24 minutes of action. St Francis was 22-68 from the field for 32 percent, 7-22 from three-point range for 31 percent and 8-12 from the free throw line for 66 percent. The Cougars had 31 rebounds,10 assists, 3 steals, no blocks and 12 turnovers.

Indiana University Women’s Basketball hosts Kentucky Wesleyan in exhibition
No. 11/11 Indiana holds its only public exhibition of the season when it hosts Division II Kentucky Wesleyan tonight at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Tipoff is set for 7pm. The Hoosiers will begin the regular season on Tuesday November 8, as they host the Vermont Catamounts at 7pm. The Hoosiers will be without Junior Kiandra Browne who will be sidelined for a few weeks with a thumb injury according to head coach Teri Moren. Moren says everybody else is available and will see minutes in this game.

Returning to the lineup this season are a pair of All-Americans in graduate student guard Grace Berger and senior forward Mackenzie Holmes. The pair was named to the 10-member preseason All-Big Ten team. The Hoosiers were also selected to finish second amongst the Big Ten media and third by the league’s coaches in the annual preseason polls. Seven new players were added to the roster in the offseason in four freshmen and three transfers. Highlighting the freshmen group is Israel native Yarden Garzon while the trio of transfers has a wealth of experience including the 2020 Indiana Miss Basketball Sydney Parrish, who arrives after two years at Oregon.

Three players earned spots on the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame starting five preseason watch lists in October. Sara Scalia is up for the Ann Meyers Drysdale award (nation’s top shooting guard), Grace Berger is a three-time preseason honoree for the Cheryl Miller Award (nation’s top small forward) and Mackenzie Holmes repeats on the Lisa Leslie Award (nation’s top center). Fan voting is now live at hoophallawards.com.

Kentucky Wesleyan, a Division II school in Owensboro, Ky., is a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference where it went 19-10 overall in 2021-22 and 15-6 in league play. They were selected to finish second in the G-MAC preseason poll and return a strong group of starters including first team all-conference selection Tahlia Walton.

Indiana University Football host 16th ranked Penn State
In the first of back-to-back top-20 opponents, the Indiana football program will host No. 16/16 Penn State Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm on ABC inside of Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers dropped a road contest in 2021 but won a thrilling overtime decision at home during the 2020 campaign. The Hoosiers are 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten while Penn State comes in 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten. This game marks the annual Salute to Service Day. Indiana will also honor the 15th anniversary of the 2007 Insight Bowl team. The Hoosiers and Nittany Lions have met in 26 of the 30 years PSU has been a member of the Big Ten, with the 2022 season marking the 16th straight season with a meeting. Saturday’s game continues a streak of five opponents in a seven-game stretch that are ranked or receiving votes in the top 25.

The Hoosiers are coming off a bye week in which was much needed with several players recovering from injuries. It was announced earlier this week that Wide Receiver Cam Camper has a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season. Camper leads the Hoosiers with 46 receptions and 569 yards along with 2 touchdowns. Emery Simmons is next with 309 yards and 1 touchdown along with 24 receptions. Tom Allen declined to name a starting quarterback as Connor Bazelak as thrown all but one pass the season, Bazelak who transferred in from Missouri in the off season has thrown for 2,099 yards and 12 touchdown passes. He also thrown 9 interceptions and been sacked 23 times. Donoven McCulley who played quarterback this year is now a wide receiver threw a 23-yard pass to Bazelak. Jack Tuttle who is a team captain has not played this season and plans to enter the transfer portal after the season. Dexter Williams has not played this season and could see time Saturday. The Hoosier’s running game has 243 Carries on 643 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Penn State is coming off a 44-31 home loss to Ohio State last Saturday. Quarterback Sean Clifford is 147-234 for 1,816 yards 12 touchdown and 6 interceptions. Freshman Running Back Nicholas Singelton has rushed 96 times for 606 yards and 7 touchdowns. Wide Receiver Parker Washington has 41 catches for 567 yards and 2 touchdowns. On defense Senior Safety Ja’Air Brown has 49 total tackles., 3 interceptions and 1 sack. Penn State has put up 30 or more points 7 times and 40 or more points 5 times. Penn State scored 17 points win a home win against Northwestern.

Indiana University Men’s Soccer host Penn State in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal
In each of the last two seasons, this matchup has decided the Big Ten Tournament. Tonight No. 4-seeded Indiana men’s soccer (8-3-6, 3-1-4 B1G) will begin its Big Ten Tournament run when it hosts Penn State (6-5-4, 3-2-3 B1G) in the opening quarterfinal round. Like regular season home matches, IU students who show their Crimson Card will receive free entry to the match. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth, ages 3-18. The match will be streamed live on the Big Ten Plus digital platform with kickoff set for 7pm.

Indiana will meet Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament for the third straight year, this time in the opening quarterfinal round. In each of the last two tournaments, this matchup has come in the championship game with the two teams splitting those meetings. IU and PSU met during the regular season on Oct. 14. Indiana earned a resounding win at Bill Armstrong Stadium, as Ryan Wittenbrink’s four-point performance led the Hoosiers to a 4-2 victory as well as the program’s 800th win all-time. The Hoosiers are 6-1-3 at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Indiana has won a Big Ten record 15 conference tournament championships, its last coming in the 2020-21 season as part of a three-year streak. The Hoosiers have reached the semifinal round in each of the last nine conference tournaments and have further advanced to the final in four straight seasons.

Penn State comes into the match with a 6-5-4 record and a 3-2-3 mark in Big Ten Conference play. Its last result was a 3-2 win at Michigan to close regular season play. The Nittany lions are led by fifth-year head coach Jeff Cook, who has compiled a 46-26-12 record at Penn State and a 225-164-61 career record over 25 seasons as a head coach. Senior forward Peter Mangione leads the Nittany Lions with eight goals and is closely followed by senior forward Liam Butts, who has seven. Senior midfielder Andrew Privett and graduate midfielder Seth Kuhn have each tallied a team-high four assists.

Indiana has had the better of the matchup between two historic programs, leading the all-time series, 36-15-5. Including ties decided by penalty kicks, the Hoosiers have won eight of the last nine meetings. IU and PSU met earlier this season during conference play, and the Hoosiers earned a resounding 4-2 victory at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Ryan Wittenbrink tallied four points in the match, scoring a goal and adding two assists. 2021 featured two important contests between IU and PSU. In the first match, Indiana handed the Nittany Lions one of their two conference losses. Penn State would get revenge in the Big Ten Tournament final with a 3-0 victory to capture the championship double. The last two Big Ten Tournament Champions have been decided by this matchup. In the adjusted 2020-21 season, Indiana won its third straight Big Ten double after defeating the Nittany Lions in penalties. Coming into that match, IU had won five straight over PSU.

Indiana University Volleyball falls to 4th ranked Nebraska
In front of 8,205 fans at the Bob Devaney Center, the Indiana Volleyball team (13-12, 6-7) battled No. 4 Nebraska in a three-set slugfest on Wednesday evening. The Hoosiers would come within three or fewer points late in each set but would drop the contest in Lincoln 22-25, 18-25, 19-25. Mady Saris (12-7-32/.156) and Morgan Geddes (11-5-27/.222) led the Hoosiers in attack while Paula Cerame led the way with a game-best 11 digs defensively. This match marked the second-straight contest away from home against ranked opposition. The Hoosiers are amidst a run of at least five-consecutive games versus top-25 teams. IU will get another massive test on Sunday afternoon (2:00 PM ET, BTN+) in Madison against the No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers.

Mady Saris (12) and Morgan Geddes (11) both reached double digits in kills on the evening. That marked the 21st time this season that Saris has crossed the 10-kill mark in a match. Paula Cerame dug a game-high 11 balls. That marked the 9th-straight match she’s been in double digits and the 19th time on the campaign. Nebraska came into the match hitting .253 on the season but was held to just .208 offensively with 17 attacking errors. Kenzie Daffinee matched her career high with a pair of service aces. Camryn Haworth had a productive all-around night with 23 assists, five digs and four kills.

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