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Indiana Cruises Past Houston Baptist 103-61

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Even with a pair rest days this week, Indiana still needed to create its own energy.

Once the No. 9 Hoosiers did, they took off and never looked back in a 103-61 blowout win over Houston Baptist on Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

"I thought we understood this week that we needed to become more efficient," said IU head coach Tom Crean, whose team had 19 assists on 33 made baskets. "We'll do the game here again next week and hope we continue to improve."

Junior guard James Blackmon Jr. led IU with a game-high 18 points on 7 of 18 shooting from the field, with junior guard Robert Johnson adding 16 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the field.

Blackmon's consistent scoring was part of the reason Indiana was able to play as efficiently as it did Saturday, and Johnson noticed.

"It just makes it that much easier for the ball movement, to get in the lane [when] you have a guy like that that's a contact threat," Johnson said. "It just makes it easier on everybody."

However, shots weren't falling that easily for the Hoosiers early on.

IU missed its first five shots from the field before a jumper by Johnson broke the scoreless streak at the 17:22 mark.

However, the shooting struggles were only temporary. Indiana would end up shooting better than 50 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range.

Sophomore forward Juwan Morgan's streak of 14-consecutive field goals made, believed to be a program record, ended at the 19:17 mark of the second half when he missed a 3-point attempt. He finished with 13 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds.

Morgan said one of the biggest differences between his play this year and last year is being in the right spot at the right time and not thinking about making the extra pass.

"Then also just the mental side of it, just being confident, knowing my teammates will find me," Morgan said. "Knowing that, just running hard, they will find you over the top or just making the back cut and they will find you there, and they will always put you in position to score."

Redshirt sophomore walk-on guard Zach McRoberts continued to provide valuable contributions off the bench. McRoberts had a team-high four assists in nine minutes in the first half and finished with four total in 16 minutes off the bench.

Freshman forward De'Ron Davis, who has emerged as a key player in IU's rotation, was limited by foul trouble in the first half with three and would foul out with just three points.

Indiana played 10 players in the first 10 minutes of the first half. With the Hoosiers' lead as large as 42 in the second half, 13 different IU players ended up seeing playing time during Saturday's contest.

Following Saturday's win, the Hoosiers will have another long break with final exams next week.

Indiana will face Butler next in the Crossroads Classic on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 5 p.m. ET. at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

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