BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Mackenzie Mgbako scored 18 points, Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau each had 17 and No. 17 Indiana defeated Eastern Illinois 90-55 on Sunday.
The Hoosiers (2-0) trailed the upset-minded Panthers by five points before going on a 24-2 run early in the second half. Mgbako, Ballo and Reneau combined to make 23 of 32 shots overall and grab 22 rebounds. Indiana outscored Eastern Illinois 54-18 in the second half.
Nakyel Shelton led Eastern Illinois (1-2) with 17 points. The Panthers made five 3-pointers to take a one-point halftime lead but were just 2 of 10 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Takeaways
Eastern Illinois: The Panthers looked like an underdog capable of an upset for about 23 minutes, then disappeared in a disastrous second-half stretch. The collapse had the visitors looking more like the team that lost by 45 at No. 24 Illinois in the season opener.
Indiana: Another double-digit win over an outmanned midmajor program was far from encouraging when considering the Hoosiers struggled to defend the 3-point line early and didn’t take control of this game until a few minutes into the second half. Far more is expected.
Key moment
Down five early in the second half, Indiana went on a 11-0 run, with Mgbako and Reneau combining for nine of those points, including a pair of dunks.
Key stat
In Indiana’s 24-2 run, the Hoosiers made 9 of 14 shots while the Panthers managed only one basket with 10 missed shots.
Up next
The Panthers visit Northwestern on Friday and the Hoosiers host South Carolina on Saturday.
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