BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -
Jerryck Owens-Murrey put in 10 points, but Western Illinois couldn't stop a sharpshooting Indiana team, which defeated the Leathernecks 92-40, Wednesday night at Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers (5-2, 0-0 Big Ten) used a 19-4 run that started at the 10:22 mark in the first half and didn't end until D.J. White hit a jumper with 4:11 remaining to put Indiana up 37-20.
Early in the game, the Hoosiers countered poor shooting with offensive rebounding to hold a 15-13 advantage with 11:59 left to play, despite the Leathernecks (3-5, 0-0 Mid-Continent) hitting 6-of-8 shots to that point. Western Illinois'
Chris Gonzalez hit a 3-pointer to again bring his team within two points, 18-16, but Indiana's run put the game out of reach for Western.
The Hoosiers hurt Western from the 3-point line, hitting 13 shots from beyond the arc, and were especially damaged by Lance Stemler, who at one point was 4-of-5 from outside, before finishing the night with 14 points. Roderick Wilmont led the Hoosiers with 20 points, and added 10 rebounds.
Louis Johnson grabbed seven rebounds in 20 minutes, while
David Jackson and
Sammy Hunter contributed six points a piece for Western.
Indiana shot 48.5 percent from the field and 41.9 percent on 3-pointers in the game, while holding Western Illinois to 36 percent shooting in the game.
Western Illinois plays its fourth game in eight days against the Saint Louis Billikens, Saturday at 1 p.m. in St. Louis.