Indiana basketball wins a thriller over Iowa to end three-game skid
BLOOMINGTON — A clutch 3-pointer from Indiana basketball freshman Gabe Cupps helped end the team's three-game losing streak on Tuesday night at Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers trailed with 1:42 left, but it was Cupps' first field goal that helped them win 74-68 over Iowa.
It was a costly win for Indiana (13-8; 5-5 Big Ten) with starters Malik Reneau (foot) and Xavier Johnson (upper body) both exiting the game with injuries.
Reneau was injured in the opening minutes and didn't return while Johnson came down hard on his arm with less than two minutes to go and went straight to the locker room. He was fouled on the play, but Trey Galloway replaced Johnson at the free throw line.
Indiana basketball survives a thriller
Payton Sandfort, who had a game-high 26 with five 3-pointers, did a lot of the heavy lifting to erase what was at one point a 17-point deficit. Josh Dix hit a free throw to give the Hawkeyes a 54-52 lead with 8:43 to go, it was their first lead since the opening minute.
The game went back-and-forth after that with six ties and five lead changes.
Sandfort hit a clutch 3-pointer from deep in the corner with 1:40 to go when there was only two seconds on the shot clock to give Iowa a 68-66 lead. He launched the shot over Gabe Cupps off a cross-court in-bounds pass only to have Cupps respond with his first made shot of the night from deep.
Indiana got a gutsy effort from Ware, who missed the previous two games with a right foot injury. He came down awkwardly on his other leg on a put back dunk with 7:40 to go and was in pain the rest of the game anytime he put weight on that leg.
He was still the focal point of IU’s offense down the stretch, and got to the line on three separate possessions after picking up offensive rebounds. Ware didn’t come off the floor in the final 10:37 and finished with a team-high 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Anthony Leal’s Moment of Zen
It took Leal 63 seconds to match his season total in made 3-pointers when he came into the game against Iowa with 12:41 to go in the first half. He came off the bench and helped Indiana push its lead to 31-15 with those 3-pointers coming during a 12-0 run.
Iowa (12-9; 4-6) missed 10 straight field goal attempts and had a scoring drought of 6:57 — Leal contributed to that strong defensive effort with a block — but it was his outside shooting that brought up the decibel level in Assembly Hall to the highest it’s been all month.
Leal was mobbed by his teammates as well when Iowa coach Fran McCaffery called a timeout.
He made some clutch shots in the second half as well. He gave IU a 53-51 lead with a nice jump step at the basket and hit a 3-pointer in the corner with the Hoosiers trailing 58-56. It was only IU’s second 3-pointer of the half. He finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Anthony Walker a key insurance policy in the front court
Walker made his first career start for the Hoosiers and played a season-high 31 minutes filling in for Kel’el Ware against Illinois. He did a little bit of everything with five points, six rebounds and two assists.
On Tuesday, he had just as prominent of a role after Reneau was injured with 17:27 to go in the first half.
Walker was a strong interior presence — this time complementing Ware inside — and active on the defensive end in 26 minutes (17 in the first half).
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: Gabe Cupps' heroics help Indiana basketball close out win over Iowa
