NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
BLOOMINGTON — It wasn’t always pretty, but IU basketball closed out a 80-61 win over SIU-Edwardsville to open the season at Assembly Hall on Wednesday night.
Sophomore forward MacKenzie Mgbako hit his fourth 3-pointer with 5:44 left to give IU a 20-point lead for the first time. Mgbako, who had a career-high 31 points, was one of four Hoosiers in double-digits alongside Malik Reneau (15), Oumar Ballo (15) and Myles Rice (11).
While the No. 18 Hoosiers (1-0; 0-0) never trailed, they had to keep their starters on the floor through the end of the game with SIUE doing just enough to hang around.
Insider: Mike Woodson has IU on firmer ground than he found it. Now it needs a long-term plan.
Here’s what stood out in the win:
IU basketball sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako cooks SIUE
Mgabko played with a confidence in Wednesday night’s season-opener fans didn’t get to see until midway through last season.
As a true freshman, he struggled through the month of November averaging just 7.2 points per game on 39.5% shooting and 11.1% from 3-point range, but he turned the page on the slow start and won co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Mgbako was IU’s best player by a wide margin to start out his sophomore campaign with his first 30-point game on 13-of-17 shooting and eight rebounds. He got going early with 13 straight points over a four-minute span that gave IU a 19-9 lead with 13:04 to go in the first half.
He flexed his versatility by knocking down a 3-pointer, throwing down a two-handed slam on a fast break and dropping in a little fadeaway from the corner after grabbing an offensive rebound.
After SIUE tied it 27-27 with 4:48 to go in the half, Mgbako got the team back on track with another flurry of offense coming out of a timeout.
He drained a 3-pointer with a defender in his face and had a three-point play all in the span of 17 seconds to help IU close out the first half on a 15-3 run.
As SIUE flirted with making it a game in the second half, Mgbako took over one final time. He hit…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mackenzie-mgbakos-31-points-carry-031311168.html
Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star
Publish date : 2024-11-07 03:13:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
