IU basketball: Indiana 81 Siena 60 — Three keys, highlights, final stats

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana defeated Siena Monday evening at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall by a final score of 81-60.

The three keys to the game, highlights and final stats are below.

Indiana led 46-20 at halftime. They were led in the game by Lamar Wilkerson with 23 points.

For Darian DeVries and Tayton Conerway postgame, GO HERE.

Indiana (10-3) now has an extended break. The Hoosiers return to action on Jan. 4 when they host Washington to resume Big Ten play.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Another strong start. For the second straight game, Indiana produced a strong first half. The Hoosiers shot 53.8% from the field including 43.8% from three. Meanwhile Siena made just 7 of 29 shots before the break, good for just 24.1% — to go with seven turnovers. Siena scored just .59 points per possession in the first half. That at all led to a comfortable 46-20 IU lead at the break. And for the second straight game, things didn’t go nearly as well in the second half, when IU shot 37.5% and had eight turnovers.

2. Wilkerson leads balanced scoring. Indiana guard Lamar Wilkerson led a balanced scoring attack for the Hoosiers. He was especially good in the first half with 19 points to go with five rebounds and four assists before the break. Wilkerson finished with 23 points, while Tayton Conerway and Tucker DeVries each had 16 and Nick Dorn scored 11. Conerway scored 12 in the second half as he took advantage of opportunities to get downhill and finish at the rim.

3. Indiana gets to the line and capitalizes. The standout in IU’s shooting splits was the free throw line, where the Hoosiers made 26 of 30 from the stripe. The attempts were a season high. Wilkerson (6 of 6), Sam Alexis (4 of 4), Tayton Conerway (4 of 4) and Nick Dorn (2 of 2) were all perfect from the stripe. IU came into the game shooting 76.2% from the line, and this 86.7% effort with a season-high tying 26 makes improved that rate.

HIGHLIGHTS