Local Sports News: November 8, 2023

Indiana University Men’s Basketball survives Florida Gulf Coast in Season Opener
The Indiana Hoosiers Men’s Basketball team survived 69-63 victory over the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in the season opener Tuesday Night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana is 3-0 in the Mike Woodson Era in Season Openers and all three are against teams nicknamed the Eagles. Indiana beat Eastern Michigan two years ago and Morehead State last year. The Hoosiers are 2-0 all time against Florida Gulf Coast with their other matchup coming in 2010 when the Hoosiers won by 28 points. Indiana is now 20-1 all time against teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference. This game was called the Bill Garrett Game to honor the 75-year Anniversary of Garrett breaking the Color Barrier in the Big Ten becoming the first African American Basketball player in the conference. Garrett passed away in 1974 at age 75 and his family was in attendance and honored before the game.

Indiana had four players in double figures led by Trey Galloway with 16 points, Malik Reneau added 15 points, Xavier Johnson scored 14 points and Kel’el Ware had first career double-double with 13 Points, 12 Rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and two steals. Ware is a transfer from Oregon and showed that he is going impact both ends of the floor. The Hoosiers finished 23-45 for 51% from the field, 4-13 from three-point range for 30 percent and 19-30 from the free throw line for 63%. The Hoosiers pulled down 33 rebounds, dished out 11 assists, 6 steals, 5 blocks and committed 11 turnovers. Florida Gulf Coast was without Zionsville Indiana native and Purdue Transfer Isaiah Thompson who missed game with an upper body injury.

The Eagles were led by Zach Anderson with 19 points and Penn State Transfer Dallion Johnson had 17 points and hit five three pointers. The Eagles were 24-62 from the field for 38%, 13-34 from the field for 38% and 2-6 from the free throw line for 33%. Florida Gulf Coast pulled down 33 rebounds, dished out 13 assists, 8 steals, 3 blocks and committed 13 turnovers.

Freshman Gabe Cupps is a spark of the bench for the Hoosiers. The Dayton Ohio native scored 5 points in 17 minutes pulling down 2 rebounds, 2 steals, a rebound and an assist. “He is a winner, I thought he was tremendous, I am able to play him, and Xavier extended minutes together” Head Coach Mike Woodson said after the game. The Hoosiers were down 48-44 with 10: 54 left in the game when Coach Woodson called timeout. After the timeout the Hoosiers went on a 14-0 leading 61-50 with 3:38 left and the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall crowd getting into the game and energizing the Hoosiers. “I like our fight when we got down six” Trey Galloway said after the game. “Obviously, we’ve got to be better not to put ourselves in that position. But to climb out of that was huge for us” Galloway said. Chase Johnson made a three pointer to cut the lead to 8 with 3:36 left. The Hoosiers led by 10 1:28 left when Florida Gulf Coast went on 8-0 run to trail 65-63 with 35 seconds left. The finished the game with Xavier Johnson free throws and free throw by Kel’el Ware to close the game with a 4-0 run.

The game featured six ties and three lead changes as the Hoosiers led the game for 33 minutes and 51 seconds. The Eagles led for three minutes, and 51 seconds and the game tied for 2 minutes and 13 seconds. Indiana led 28-26 at half and outscored the Eagles 41-37 in the second half. The Hoosiers saw Mackenize Mgbako and Ware make their first starts in their first career games as Hoosiers with Mgbako a freshman who finished with 4 points and 3 rebounds. Xavier Johnson, Trey Galloway and Mailk Reneau rounded out the starting five. The Hoosiers had nine players see the floor with Payton Sparks unavailable for this game due to an injury he suffered in the exhibition game against Indianapolis.

Indiana University Men’s Soccer host Michigan in Big Ten Tournament Semifinal
Appearing in its 27th Big Ten Tournament Semifinal, No. 1-seeded Indiana men’s soccer will welcome No. 5-seeded Michigan to Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium tonight. The Big Ten Network will broadcast the match with kickoff set for 8pm. The victor will play the winner of No. 2-seeded Penn State and No. 6-seeded Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament Final on Sunday at Noon. Admission is free for Indiana University students, faculty and staff that present a valid Crimson Card. Indiana is the Big Ten Tournament’s winningest program, both by wins (45) and number of titles (15). The Hoosiers have a 45-11-13 (.744) record in the conference tournament. A win would mark IU’s seventh consecutive trip to the Big Ten final and No. 23 overall. Indiana has won seven of its last eight, averaging two goals per game in that span. Senior defender and captain Joey Maher was selected to the College Soccer News Team of the Week on Monday after helping the Hoosiers to a 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Wisconsin, converting a penalty and leading the backline. The Hoosiers are 8-1-2 at home this season, posting four clean sheets while conceding four goals in 11 matches (0.36 goals against average).

Michigan owns a 5-5-7 record, was 2-1-5 in the Big Ten and has a 1-4-3 mark in road matches.   The Wolverines are led by 12th-year head coach Chaka Daley, who owns a 95-85-41 record during his time in Ann Arbor and a 90-111-27 mark over 24 seasons as a head coach. Freshman forward Alex Waggoner leads the Wolverines in scoring with six goals. Senior midfielder Bryce Blevins has a team-high three assists as well as four goals.­ Indiana has dominated the all-time series with Michigan, owning a 23-4-5 record against the Wolverines. IU is 5-0 against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament including ties broken by penalty kicks. In Indiana’s run of three straight tournament titles between 2018-20, the first two finals were against the Wolverines. The two teams met on September 29 of this year at Bill Armstrong Stadium, settling for a scoreless draw. Indiana fired 19 shots, seven on goals, while holding Michigan to just seven total attempts.

Indiana University Women’s Soccer heads to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013
Indiana women’s soccer punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament on Monday afternoon earning an at-large bid, the NCAA Selection Committee announced. The Hoosiers will travel to St. Louis, Mo., to face No. 6 seed and No. 21 Saint Louis.  at 8 pm on Friday at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. IU will make their fifth appearance in program history and their first since the 2013 season. Indiana finished with a 12-3-4 record and had their best finish in the Big Ten with a 6-2-2 record. The Billikens have a 1-1-1 record in the all-time series with Indiana. The Hoosiers claimed a 1-0 victory at SLU in 1998; the teams tied 1-1 the following year in Bloomington; and Saint Louis won 1-0 at home in 2003.

The NCAA Championship appearance is Saint Louis’ eighth overall and sixth in succession. The Billikens earned an automatic tournament bid by winning a sixth consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship title, topping La Salle 3-0 in Sunday’s tournament final following victories of 2-0 over VCU in the quarterfinals and 5-0 over Duquesne in the semifinals. Saint Louis (17-2-2), which posted a 9-0-1 record in winning the A-10 regular-season crown, carries a 10-game winning streak the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division I women’s soccer a 10-game shutout streak and a 16-game (14-0-2) unbeaten streak into the national tournament. The Billikens lead the nation in goal differential (+57) and rank second in goals per game (3.19) and save percentage (.900), third in shutout percentage (.667) and eighth in goals against average (0.48).

Indiana University Wide Receiver Cam Camper will miss the rest of the season due to injury
Indiana wide receiver Cam Camper will miss the rest of the 2023 season, coach Tom Allen said Monday. Over the weekend, Camper underwent a procedure related to the torn ACL he suffered during the 2022 season. “It’s just a chance to really get it cleaned up and help him have a really, really 100 percent clean future,” Allen said. Camper did not play Saturday against Wisconsin after being listed questionable on the pregame availability report. He has appeared in seven games for the Hoosiers in 2023, logging 17 receptions for 285 yards and one touchdown. Despite being limited to seven games in 2022, he finished the year as the Hoosiers’ leading receiver, with 46 catches for 569 yards and two touchdowns. The 6-foot-2 receiver transferred to Indiana before the 2022 season after beginning his college career with two years at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas. 

Camper holds the all-time Indiana record for receiving yards in a debut, totaling 156 receiving yards in the Hoosiers’ season-opening win over Illinois in 2022. Prior to the 2023 season, Pro Football Focus included Camper on the preseason second-team All-Big Ten. Camper is currently a fourth-year senior at Indiana, but he has a fifth year of eligibility remaining for the 2024 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He could also apply for a medical hardship waiver for the 2025 season, which would be ruled on by the NCAA. With Camper out, Indiana will rely on Donaven McCulley, E.J. Williams Jr., DeQuece Carter and Omar Cooper Jr. for the bulk of the wide receiver snaps. McCulley had one of his best games as an Indiana wide receiver on Saturday against Wisconsin, hauling in five receptions for 67 yards and a one-handed touchdown catch.

Heading into the year, Indiana coaches were excited about the addition of Williams, a 6-foot-3 transfer from Clemson, but he’s been limited to five total games this year due to injury. And in two of those games, he’s played six snaps or less.  With Camper out, Allen is expecting big things from the now-healthy Williams, who had his most productive game as a Hoosier on Saturday, totaling four receptions for 48 yards. “E.J.’s length and speed, he’s our fastest and longest receiver combination that we have,” Allen said Monday. “Really excited for him. Made some big plays for us. He’s a big enough guy to break tackles and can stretch the field.”

The Indiana Pacers score 152 points on San Antonio Spurs and give Head Coach Rick Carlisle his 900th win
Tyrese Haliburton scored 23 points, and the Indiana Pacers routed the San Antonio Spurs 152-111 on Monday night for coach Rick Carlisle’s 900th career victory. Carlisle, second among active coaches in wins, beat the all-time leader, active or otherwise, in Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich, who has 1,369 victories, all with the Spurs. The Pacers won in style, tying a team record for most points in a game. Haliburton, who also had eight assists, was one of six Pacers in double figures. Obi Toppin and Buddy Hield each scored 19. Myles Turner had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who had their biggest lead at 39 points late in the third quarter. Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama had his worst shooting night in his first back-to-back, going 3 of 12 and finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Reserve Doug McDermott scored 17 points to lead the Spurs, who lost at home to Toronto a night earlier. Carlisle has 245 wins over two stints with the Pacers and 555 in 13 seasons with Dallas, where he won his only championship as a head coach in 2011. The 64-year-old also won 100 games in Detroit. San Antonio was lethargic from the outset. The Pacers tied a franchise record for most first-half points in taking an 86-61 lead at the break. Indiana sank 12 3-pointers in the first half and finished 20 of 38. San Antonio was 8 of 26. The Pacers won handily two nights after setting a team record with 12 3-pointers in a 50-point third quarter, but in a 125-124 loss at home to Charlotte. The Pacers host the Utah Jazz tonight in Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7pm.

Notre Dame Women’s Basketball falls to South Carolina in Paris
Dawn Staley could not have envisioned the flashy season-opening performance that new-look South Carolina put on to beat Notre Dame in the NCAA’s first women’s game in Paris France. Kamilla Cardoso had 20 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks and freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley had 17 points to lead the sixth-ranked Gamecocks to a 100-71 victory over the 10th-ranked Fighting Irish on Monday. South Carolina lost seven seniors from last season, including the core that reached three straight Final Fours and won the 2022 national title: WNBA No. 1 overall draft pick Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke and Brea Beal.

Cardoso is a 6-foot-7 senior who came off the bench behind Boston the past two seasons. Now, she has the middle all to herself and was dominant for South Carolina, hitting nine of 14 shots for her 17th career double double. Fulwiley, recruited by Staley as a seventh grader, is a jet-quick guard with dynamic moves that were on display in Paris. The freshman had a drive through Notre Dame’s defense where she put the ball behind her back, kept it and finished with a flip shot as South Carolina fans who flocked across the pond to watch the game went wild. Even the great Magic Johnson was talking about the move on social media. “That move made everybody notice,” said Fulwiley, who also had six assists and six steals. “I hope they keep watching.” Hannah Hidalgo, a five-star freshman ranked as the fifth-best college prospect by ESPN.com, led Notre Dame with 31 points.

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