IU wraps Bahamas trip with 64-53 win over BC Mega

Raise the dang banner. Indiana went undefeated in The Bahamas.

Double-doubles from Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson along with a team-high 13 points from Xavier Johnson paced the Hoosiers to a 64-53 victory over Serbian professional team BC Mega on Sunday afternoon, sealing a 2-0 weekend trip to the Atlantis Paradise Island resort.

Here are a few quick observations from the box score:

All eyes on the point

While splitting the bulk of the work, point guards Xavier Johnson and Rob Phinisee combined for 13 assists and just one turnover. Yeah, you’ll take that. Johnson was especially impactful, scoring a team-high 13 points and finishing as a plus-23 in his 21 minutes on the floor. At the same time, you’d like to see a little more efficiency in the field goal column after the backcourt duo combined to go 5-for-21 from the floor. Even so, there seemed to be a lot to like from their partnership this weekend.

Khristian Lander, meanwhile, logged just nine minutes during the trip and didn’t see the court Sunday until the walk-ons took over.

Geronimo brings energy off the bench

It was a really encouraging weekend for the second-year forward, who averaged 8.5 boards across the two games after a seven-point, seven-rebound showing on Sunday. Across 19 total minutes in Game 2, Geronimo also logged a block and a steal and ended up as one of two bench players (along with Tamar Bates) to finish as a positive in the plus/minus column. Geronimo was a plus-two.

All aboard the Tamar Bates bandwagon

The highly-touted freshman guard made good use of the trip, providing some scoring punch off the bench. Bates actually played the third-most minutes (27) of any Hoosier on Sunday, finishing with nine points on 3-for-7 shooting with six rebounds and a steal. He was a plus-three.

Kopp leaves early

According to reports from the game, Northwestern transfer Miller Kopp hurt his ankle early in the contest and was held out for the remainder of afternoon. The good news is it’s nothing serious, per this perfect quote from IU coach Mike Woodson:

Double-doubles for TJD and Thompson

Jackson-Davis finished with 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting while grabbing 11 rebounds. Thompson, meanwhile, added 10 points and 11 boards. On an afternoon where IU shot a cool 75% from the free throw line, Jackson-Davis was the only Hoosier to miss at the stripe. He went 1-for-5 on the day.

Shooting update

Speaking of shooting, Kopp’s departure seemed to put a dent in IU’s hopes for hitting a few more 3s. The Hoosiers finished 6-for-20 from beyond the arc, as Parker Stewart had an off night on the outside. Stewart went just 1-for-7 from deep. Johnson, Kopp, Thompson, Geronimo and Bates also added 3-balls.

Across the two games, IU shot a combined 34% from 3-point range and 66% from the line.

Eric Gordon sighting

The former IU guard was among the many Hoosiers who made the trip to paradise to watch a little basketball this weekend.

Gordon has family members on his mother’s side who live in The Bahamas.

Next up: Eastern Michigan

Well, this was a fun weekend. But with both games in the books, the focus in Bloomington returns to football. We do, at least, now know when Woodson’s crew will get the season rolling. According to multiple reports, including this one from Inside The Hall’s Tyler Tachman, IU will host Eastern Michigan for its season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at Assembly Hall.