After overlooking Kentucky in opener, Indiana All-Stars get their revenge

INDIANAPOLIS – Basketball is a numbers game. Here are some numbers.

Coming into this weekend, the Indiana All-Stars had won 27 of the past 30 games against Kentucky. They led the series 96-43.

Last time Indiana lost both games during the weekend? 1986.

So after Friday night’s 100-89 Kentucky win, there was a bit of an edge with this group.

“We don’t want to be the team to go 0-2 to Kentucky,” IndyStar Mr. Basketball Romeo Langford said.

And that’s not a slight against Kentucky. But the numbers say Indiana should win these games.

Kentucky doesn’t have a single player on its roster going to a school in a Power 5 conference. Indiana has... well, quite a few. There’s Langford, Robert Phinisee and Damezi Anderson going to Indiana, Eric Hunter going to Purdue, Aaron Henry going to Michigan State…

So it’s understandable that Indiana might have overlooked their opponent. Indiana coach Jim Shannon admitted that his team did just that in the first game of the weekend.

“I think we underestimated Kentucky’s talent,” Shannon said. “They don’t have the heralded kids. I think we underestimated their athleticism.”

Saturday night was a different story. The result was a 109-81 win that saw six players finish in double-figures, led by Langford’s 22. Henry and Mekhi Lairy scored 15, Hunter scored 12, and Anderson and Gavin Bizeau scored 10 each.

Hunter said the team got together after Friday’s loss and regrouped.

“We had to come out with more energy,” he said. “It started on the defensive end.”

Indiana’s defense was stifling, especially in the first half. Kentucky shot just 24 percent in the first half, and 33 percent in the game. Indiana scorched the nets on the other end, shooting 58 percent in the first 20 minutes en route to a 26-point halftime lead. They took advantage of 21 Kentucky turnovers and turned them into 32 points.

Henry, the Ben Davis star, brought the crowd to its feet multiple times with thunderous dunks. He finished with He shot 7-of-11 from the floor, had four rebounds and three steals.

“I thought he played great tonight,” Shannon said of the Michigan State recruit. “I told him at halftime, ‘That’s the Henry I’ve been looking for. That’s the beast from Ben Davis.’”

Kentucky coach Scott Chalk knew the odds were against Indiana losing twice in two days. Indiana’s depth proved to be too much on both ends of the floor.

“It’s hard to come out two nights in a row and fool them,” he said. “I knew they’d be a little different tonight than they were last night.”

So after the game, Shannon could relax. He didn’t have to be that guy.

“Nobody wants to be that guy,” he said of potentially losing both games of the series. “These guys came out and played much harder, much more focused.”

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BALANCED ATTACK LEADS INDIANA GIRLS PAST KENTUCKY

The Indiana girls All-Stars got double-figure scoring performances from six different players en route to an 83-70 win over Kentucky.

Purdue recruit Cassidy Hardin, named the Most Outstanding Player, and Notre Dame recruit Katlyn Gilbert both scored 12 points. Emily Kiser, Nia Clark, Tomi Taiwo and Angel Baker all scored 10 each. Emily Kiser grabbed 10 rebounds.

IndyStar Miss Basketball Amy Dilk logged only four minutes due to twisting an ankle early in the first half.

“When Amy got hurt early, I knew someone had to step up, and essentially I was doing it for her because I knew she didn’t have a chance to get out there and be with us, and I knew she wanted to be,” Hardin said. “I just wanted to get the win for my team. I was doing whatever I could in my power, and my teammates did the same.”

Indiana’s defense was stifling, holding Kentucky to 30 percent shooting and 15 percent shooting from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Indiana shot 43 percent and hit 7 of 15 shots from behind the arc.

“I loved our balance tonight,” Indiana coach Pat McKee said. “All three games, we had really good balance. Last night, Amy stepped up and had a big game. We had pretty good balance underneath her. Tonight it was balance across the board.”

GIRLS

INDIANA 83, KENTUCKY 70

KENTUCKY: Robins 2-9 4-4 9, Robinson 2-9 2-5 7, Berger 6-11 6-6 18, Souder 2-9 4-4 8, Green 3-9 1-2 7, Harbison 2-6 0-0 4, Morrow 0-1 2-2 2, Turley 0-2 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Clephane 0-1 0-0 0, Held 6-16 2-2 15, Gibson 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 23-76 21-25 70.

INDIANA: Dilk 0-1 0-0 0, Gilbert 3-8 6-8 12, Hardin 3-6 4-5 12, Kiser 3-6 0-0 10, Blazek 4-7 2-2 8, Clark 3-5 2-4 10, Brown 2-4 2-2 7, Newman 0-2 0-0 0, Taiwo 4-7 0-0 10, Bishop 1-5 0-0 2, White 2-4 0-0 4, Baker 4-12 2-2 10. Totals: 29-67 18-23 83

3-point goals: Kentucky 3 (Robins, Robinson, Held). Indiana 7 (Hardin 2, Clark 2, Taiwo 2, Brown).

BOYS

INDIANA 109, KENTUCKY 81

KENTUCKY: Faulkner 5-15 0-0 12, Potter 3-11 4-5 12, Boone 2-10 4-4 8, Sullivan 9-15 0-1 21, Pearson 0-6 0-0 0, Penny 2-6 0-2 4, Cartwright 0-2 0-0 0, Burries 5-11 0-0 13, Robb 1-6 3-4 5, Kiesler 3-3 0-0 6, Hendrickson 0-5 0-0 0. Totals: 30-90 11-16 81.

INDIANA: Langford 7-13 6-7 22, Phinisee 1-5 0-0 3, Henry 7-11 0-0 15, Anderson 4-8 1-1 10, Hunter 5-11 2-4 12, Coyle 0-0 0-0 0, East 2-5 0-0 4, Coleman 3-7 0-0 6, Washington 2-6 0-0 4, Tate 1-5 2-4 5, Lairy 6-11 3-4 15, Bizeau 4-6 2-2 10, Easley 1-4 1-2 3. Totals: 43-92 17-24 109.

3-point goals: Kentucky 10 (Sullivan 3, Burries 3, Faulkner 2, Potter 2). Indiana 6 (Langford 2, Phinisee, Henry, Anderson, Tate).