LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Indiana Junior All-Stars fell to the Kentucky Junior All-Stars 115-104 Sunday evening at Mercy Academy in the first of two games between the squads.
Trailing 105-99, Indiana engineered a 5-0 run to pul within one and force a Kentucky timeout with 1:57 left. Kentucky responded with 10 unanswered points to secure the victory.
Indianapolis Lawrence Central guard and Nebraska commit D'Andre Davis led Indiana with 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting from the floor. He also chipped in eight rebounds, one block and one steal defensively. Marques Warrick of Lexington (Ky.) Henry Clay led Kentucky with 19 points.
The Indiana All-Stars also featured multiple IU recruiting targets or prospects with IU interest.
Culver (Ind.) Academy three-star guard Trey Galloway, who took an official visit to Indiana this week, shared second on the team for most points in the contest with 13. He shot 6 of 14 from the floor and 1 of 2 from 3-point range, adding five rebounds, an assist and two steals. He logged 22 minutes in a game that was played with two 20-minute halves.
"We got off to a great start, but we didn't play very well toward the end," Galloway said.
Starting alongside Galloway, Bloomington (Ind.) High School South four-star guard Anthony Leal, who took an unofficial visit to Indiana this week, contributed 11 points on 3 of 9 shooting from the floor and 3 of 8 from 3-point range. He made 2 of 3 free throws and also snagged four rebounds in 20 minutes.
Indiana led by as many as 21 points in the first half, but it was Kentucky's work on the boards that helped chip away at the deficit and eventually get the victory. Kentucky outrebounded Indiana 65-50 overall, including a 21-10 advantage on the offensive glass that led to 25 second-chance points.
"That's impossible to win a game when the other team has 21 offensive rebounds," Leal said. "They out-toughed us and wanted it a little more, but it's going to be a lot different tomorrow."
Indianapolis Lawrence Central point guard Nijel Pack, who has IU interest and is aiming to unofficially visit campus in June, shot 1 for 10 from the floor and 1 for 7 from 3-point range, finishing with five points. He added seven rebounds, two assists and one steal in 22 minutes.
Sunday's game featured the core Junior All-Stars plus the Blue group. Pack, Leal, Galloway, Davis, Mishawaka (Ind.) Marian guard and Purdue commit Jaden Ivey and Topeka (Ind.) Westview guard Charlie Yoder comprised the core group, while the Blue group included Lincoln City (Ind.) Heritage Hills' Murray Becher, Indianapolis New Palestine point guard Maximus Gizzi, Bloomington South point guard and Army commit Noah Jager, Evansville (Ind.) Bosse forward Kiyron Powell, Indianapolis Decatur Central guard Kenny Tracy and Greensburgh (Ind.) High guard Andrew Welage.
The second and final game of the Indiana-Kentucky Junior All-Star series will take place Monday night at Jeffersonville (Ind.) High, following the girls' game which tips at 6 p.m. eastern time.
In that contest, the core group will team up with the White group, which includes Bedford (Ind.) North Lawrence guard Brayton Bailey (son of former IU standout Damon Bailey), Laffayette Central Catholic guard Carson Barrett, Jeffersonville guard Tre Coleman, Crispus Attucks guard Sincere McMahon, Kokomo (Ind.) Northwestern guard Tayson Parker and Indianapolis Lawrence North guard Tony Perkins.
"With our talent, I think we can pull away," Galloway said. "We've just got to move it a little bit more in those games, but once we get a feel for each other, I think we'll start to play with a little bit more pace. Tomorrow will be fun to see where we're at."
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