Indiana basketball guard Trey Galloway brings the fight to Ohio State in comeback win
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Indiana basketball guard Anthony Leal deserves plenty of credit for Tuesday night’s win for hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go in a 76-73 win over Ohio State.
It was his first (and only) shot attempt in his 26 minutes of playing.
Leal, who spent much of the season languishing on the bench, provided the Hoosiers with similar heroics in a win over Iowa.
He’s deserving of all the praise coming his way from IU’s fanbase, but the sole reason Leal was in that position was because of Trey Galloway’s inspired performance.
Galloway told reporters the Hoosiers needed to play “harder and smarter” after last week’s loss to Penn State. He gave his teammates an example of what he meant in the second half against the Buckeyes.
“Coach Ya (Yasir Rosemond) says all the time that senior guards win games, and Trey stepped up big time for us,” Leal said, after the game. “He did what I know he's capable of.”
Galloway scored seven straight points after OSU went up 49-31 with 17:39 left to go. He had a hand in 11 of the team’s 16 field goals in the second half — he scored 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting and had four assists — while playing the full 20 minutes.
He came into the game shooting 27.3% from 3-point range, but was 3 of 3 in the second half from long range.
“I thought Gallo was huge tonight,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. “He stepped up and wanted the ball, we put him in a lot of situations where we had the ball in his hands and ran pick and rolls and ran plays and he delivered."
Galloway’s relentless defense might have been even better.
He spent much of the second half terrorizing Bruce Thornton, who made several critical mistakes down the stretch. Thornton committed an offensive foul with Galloway pressuring him under OSU’s basket. He forced two other turnovers in the final minutes as well.
It’s the type of production and leadership Woodson has wanted to see from Galloway.
Woodson has been highly critical of his senior guards this season and publicly called them out on multiple occasions this season like when they were “outplayed” in a loss to Connecticut or “awful” against Rutgers.
With Xavier Johnson sidelined indefinitely with an elbow injury, Galloway is the one Woodson expects to be a floor general.
"Our seniors can't hide," Woodson said.
Galloway certainly didn't shy away from the spotlight on Tuesday with his team on the ropes. He was vocal on every possession as Indiana clawed its way back on the road with multiple starters (Kel'el Ware and Gabe Cupps) in foul trouble.
The senior guard was there with a play whether it was the right read, a tipped pass or a 3-pointer every time the Hoosiers needed it.
“I think you learn what we’re made of," Galloway said. "...You can’t win those 18 points back in one play, so just chipping away and finding ways to go out there and compete and keep battling and keep fighting and find a way. That was the biggest thing, and we did that.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana basketball guard Trey Galloway sparks comeback win over OSU
