Indiana University Men’s Basketball hosts Bethune-Cookman
Indiana University continues its 123rd season of competition in men’s basketball with a matchup against Bethune-Cookman at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Tip is scheduled for 8:30pm this evening and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Six Hoosiers scored at least eight points in Indiana’s 88-53 season-opening win over Morehead State on Monday evening. Senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and true freshman forward Malik Reneau led the charge with 15 points each. Junior forward Jordan Geronimo paced the Indiana bench with his fifth career double-digit scoring effort. He finished with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting with two rebounds. Sixth-year senior forward Race Thompson (9), sophomore guard Tamar Bates (9), and fifth-year senior Miller Kopp (8) combined to score 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor. Indiana dominated Morehead State in points off turnovers (29-9) and points in the paint (52-18).
The Hoosier defense ranked as the most efficient in the Big Ten by KenPom (24th in the nation) and held opponents to a league-low 39.6% shooting from the floor. Opponents of Indiana scored 66.4 points per game a season ago, the lowest point total since the 2012-13 season (62.1). Indiana held Morehead State to 53 points, the fewest allowed by an opponent in an Indiana season opener since Nov. 13, 2015, when Indiana beat Eastern Illinois, 88-49. Indiana turned the ball over just 10 times in the victory over Morehead State to open the season, leading to nine Eagle points. The Hoosiers are 10-8 during Woodson’s tenure when turning the ball over 10 times or less.
Indiana head coach Mike Woodson and Bethune-Cookman head coach Reggie Theus know each other very well as the pair played in 195 NBA games together with the Kansas City/Sacramento Kings. Woodson was selected 12th overall in the 1980 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. He played 11 seasons with the Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Sacramento Kings, the LA Clippers, Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers. Theus, an All-American from UNLV, was the ninth overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. He played 13 seasons and was twice named an NBA All-Star and was selected to the 1979 NBA All-Rookie First Team.
The Wildcats finished 9-21 and 10th in the Southwestern Athletic Conference a season ago and lost at Iowa 89-58 Monday night. Zion Harmon came off the bench to lead Bethune-Cookman with 15 points and seven assists. Marcus Garrett and Dylan Robertson added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Demani McEntire is a 6-4 Junior from Indianapolis and scored 4 points in 17 minutes at Iowa Monday night. McEntire played at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia and began his college career at The University of Southern Utah. Bethune-Cookman is an Historically Black University located in Daytona Beach Florida. This is the first all-time meeting between the two teams.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball signs two players for 2023
Indiana Women’s Basketball Head Coach Teri Moren has announced the signing of a pair in Lenée Beaumont and Jules LaMendola as the fall national signing day period began for several sports, Wednesday. The duo comes in ranked in ESPN’s top 100 with LaMendola at No. 53 while Beaumont checks in at No. 82, both earning four-star rankings. They also earned top 100 rankings with Collegiate Girls Basketball Report (Beaumont- 41, LaMendola – 81) and All-Star Girls Report (LaMendola – 41, Beaumont – 81). As a class, the duo comes in at No. 20 in ESPN’s overall team rankings.
Lenée Beaumont | G | 6-1 | Benet Academy | Lisle, Ill.
The 6-foot-1 guard helped Benet Academy to three conference championships and a fourth-place state finish in 2022. Her accolades include being named the conference Most Valuable Player, My Suburban Life Player of the Year, Naperville Sun All-Area Team, IBCA First Team, and All-state honors. She averaged 16.0 points, five rebounds and 4.5 assists per game as a junior in 2021-22. Beaumont played AAU with Midwest Elite EYBL and earned a USA Basketball U18 camp invite in the summer of 2022.
Moren on Beaumont
“Lenée is a young lady that we identified early on as a good fit for us. She comes from a winning high school program at Benet Academy. Coach Joe Kilbride does a great job preparing his players for the next level. Lenée is very skilled and has great size at the guard position. She is an unselfish player who gets her teammates involved. She also can score at all 3 levels. Lenée is going to continue to get better and better.”
Jules LaMendola | G | 6-1 | Coppell | Coppell, Texas
LaMendola, a 6-foot-1 guard from Coppell, Texas, averaged 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists per game during her junior season where they were ranked No. 4 in the state in 2021-22. She helped Coppell to a 2022 Area Championship, bi-district championship and district championship. Her squad went undefeated at home and posted its best record in school history at 37-2. She was named the District MVP, Texas Girls Coaches Association all-state and program MVP, offensive MVP and most improved. She played AAU with Nike Proskills 17U EYBL.
Moren on LaMendola
“Jules is a tough winner. She had a fantastic summer playing for her Pro Skills AAU team. She was the leader for her team that won some of the biggest spring and summer AAU Tournaments. She also led her Coppell High School team to their best season in history. She is willing to do whatever it takes to win – scoring, defending, rebounding, taking charges. Her versatility gives her the option to play multiple positions on the floor.”
Gabe Cupps signs with Indiana University Men’s Basketball for 2023
Gabe Cupps is officially a Hoosier. The four-star point guard signed his national letter of intent with Indiana University on Wednesday alongside his family at Centerville High School in Ohio. The fall signing period opened on Wednesday and runs till November 16. Cupps has been verbally committed to Indiana since Nov. 16, 2021, but Wednesday made it official. Cupps chose Indiana over finalists Ohio State and Stanford, as well as other offers from Kansas State, Miami (OH), Michigan, Virginia Tech and Xavier. In the class of 2023, Cupps is ranked No. 88 by ESPN, No. 99 by On3, No. 107 by 247Sports and No. 122 by Rivals.
Cupps, a 6-foot-2 point guard, played AAU basketball for the Midwest Basketball Club, alongside four-star Kentucky guard commit Reed Sheppard. The backcourt duo matched up with Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, and five-star Kentucky commit Robert Dillingham on July 26 in the Las Vegas Big Time Finale. Cupps also played in the SLAM Summer Classic on Aug. 20, an event at Rucker Park in Harlem, N.Y., which featured some of the top-ranked high school prospects.
Cupps is the first player to sign a national letter of intent with Indiana, but four-star guard Jakai Newton is expected to do so tomorrow. Newton verbally committed to Indiana coach Mike Woodson on Oct. 22, 2021. Cupps and Newton remain the only high school commits for Indiana in the class of 2023 after missing out other targets.
Bloomington South handles Edgewood Girls Basketball
The Bloomington South Panthers beat the Edgewood Mustangs 54-34 in Girls HS Basketball at the Mustang Corral in Ellettsville Tuesday Night. The Panthers are 1-0 and host Columbus East tomorrow night at 7:30pm. Edgewood is 0-3 and will host South Putnam Friday Night at 7:30pm. The Panthers led 25-12 at halftime and outscored the Mustangs 29-26 in the second half. Bloomington South was 18-51 from the field and 13-20 from the free throw line. Caitlin Helm led the Panthers in scoring with 13 points and 5 rebounds, Abbie Lucas had 12 points and 5 rebounds and Mya Lawrence added 11 points. Edgewood was 10-29 from the field and 11-17 from the free throw line. Jaylen Robinson led the Mustangs with 11 points and Madi Bland added 9 points.
Bedford North Lawrence dominated Bloomington North 72-41 in Bedford Tuesday Night. The Stars are 2-0 and travel to Lawrence County rival Mitchell on Saturday at 7:30pm. Bloomington North is 1-1 and travels to Brown County Saturday at 7:30pm. Bedford North Lawrence used a 26-9 second quarter lead to extend the lead to 42-17 at the break. Kenli Sullivan led Bloomington North scoring with 11 points while Ava Robbennolt and Mallory Barrow had 6 points each. Junior Chloe Spreen scored 25 points for the Stars and Butler Commit Karysn Norman added 18 points and the Stars hit 9 three pointers in the game.
Ball State Football falls on the road to Toledo
It was only fitting that a contest between the top two teams in the Mid-American Conference West Division came down to the final minutes. Unfortunately, an eight-yard touchdown pass with 1:18 remaining gave host Toledo a 28-21 victory over Ball State in Tuesday night #MACtion at the Glass Bowl. The Cardinals (5-5, 3-3 MAC) would get the ball to the Rockets’ (7-3, 5-1 MAC) 47-yard line on the ensuing drive, but an interception on a fourth-down pass sealed the UT victory. Despite the loss, it was another career night for sophomore running back Carson Steele who carried the Cardinals offense with a career-high 198 yards and three touchdowns. The total included his longest rush of the season, a 38-yard touchdown jaunt to give BSU a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. It was the eighth time this season, and sixth straight game, the reigning MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week has run the ball for over 100 yards, tied for the second most among all FBS players nationally.
The Cardinals defense also turned in a strong effort, holding the conference’s top scoring offense to almost eight points under its league-leading scoring average of 35.9 points per game. Over the four drives before the game-winning touchdown, BSU forced a pair of three-and-outs, held Toledo to one first down, and allowed just 17 total yards. It was also able to give the offense solid field position, including drives starting at the Toledo 47-yard line and the Ball State 48-yard line. Jaquan Amos and Clayton Coll each racked up 11 tackles to lead the defense. Coll had a team-best 2.5 tackles-for-loss, while Amos added a pass breakup on a third-down stop in the second half. Sidney Houston Jr. and Tavion Woodard tallied 1.0 sack apiece and combined for nine tackles. Amechi Uzodinma II forced a fumble and recorded an interception in the end zone.
Offensively, Brady Hunt caught four passes for 56 yards, while Jayshon Jackson had a pair of grabs for 20 yards and Yo’Heinz Tyler had one catch for five yards. Jackson and Tyler extended their streak of catching at least one pass to 35 consecutive games, which is tied for fifth-most among all active FBS players. The Rockets were guided by Dequan Finn, who threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns. Dyontae Johnson led the Toledo defense with 11 stops. Ball State returns to action next Tuesday (Nov. 15) when it closes the home portion of the 2022 season with a 7pm kickoff versus MAC East Division leader Ohio inside Scheumann Stadium.
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