Reneau Returns as The Hoosiers Hush the Huskies

By Nick Jenkinson/Excel H Sports

    The Indiana Hoosiers handled the Washington Huskies 78-62 Saturday Afternoon at the Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle as the Hoosiers made their first ever trip to Seattle and came away with a dominating win. Indiana is 4-1 all time against Washington and have won the last four meetings in this series as the teams met on the hardwood for the first time since 2013 in New York City.

    Indiana 18-11 and 9-9 in the Big Ten and extends its winning streak to three games. The Hoosiers will stay out West to face the Oregon Ducks Tuesday Night in Eugene before returning to Bloomington to battle Ohio State Next Saturday. Washington drops to 13-16 overall and 4-14 in the Big Ten and need to win their final two games to have any chance of making the Big Ten Tournament which will not be easy traveling to USC and hosting Oregon.

   Malik Reneau returned after missing Penn State game Wednesday Night after he was taken to the hospital after he had an allergic reaction to medication after the teams shootaround. Reneau scored 22 points off the bench and was 10-13 from the field, 0-1 from three-point range 2-3 from the free throw line with 6 rebounds and 2 assists.

   Luke Goode scored 18 points and drilled 5 three pointers. Mackenize Mgbako and Myles Rice added 10 points each. Indiana finished the game 30-61 from the field for 49%, 9-23 from three-point range for 39% and 9-14 from the free throw line for 63%. The Hoosiers pulled down 36 rebounds, dished out 16 assists, 6 steals, 3 blocks and committed 9 turnovers.

   Zoom Diallo led Washington with 18 points. Franck Kepnang, Tyler Harris and Mekhi Mason all scored 10 points apiece. Indiana held Washington’s leading scorer Great Osobor to 4 points as he went 0-5 from the field, 0-1 from three-point range and 4-6 from the free throw line. Osobor had 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal. The Huskies finished 21-58 from the field for 36%, 6-23 from three-point range for 26% and 14-17 from the free throw line for 82%. The Huskies pulled down 34 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks and committed 13 turnovers.

   The Hoosiers built a 21-9 lead in the first 10 minutes and were largely unchallenged from there. Indiana led 44-30 at halftime, but Diallo’s 3-pointer two-and-a-half minutes into the second half capped a 7-0 Washington spurt to reduce the Huskies’ deficit to 44-37. Indiana responded with two free throws from Mgbako, Oumar Ballo made a jumper and 1 of 2 free throws and Indiana led by double digits the rest of the way. Reneau’s layup with 8:10 left gave Indiana its first and only 20-point advantage at 64-44. The Hoosiers outscored Washington 34-32 in the second half.

  Washington opened the game with a Mekhi Mason three pointer and Mackenize Mgbako tied the game on a three pointer. Tyler Harris gave Washington the lead 5-3 and the Hoosiers tied the game with a Trey Galloway bucket. Oumar Ballo’s layup with 17:05 left in the first half gave the Hoosiers a 7-5 lead and never looked back. The Hoosiers were wearing black uniforms with red numbers and letters and with a healthy Malik Reneau who was unstoppable, and Indiana took away the Huskies leading scorer in Great Osobor out of his game gives Indiana a boost of confidence as the Hoosiers are looking for another quad 1 win at Oregon Tuesday as Indiana keeps its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a third straight win.