BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Seeing the new faces of Indiana basketball makes the exhibition season exciting for fans, and the Hoosier newcomers did not disappoint in a 74-52 victory over the University of Indianapolis.

Indiana trailed the Division II University of Indianapolis 27-25 at the break, but the fresh faces helped Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers turn the game in the second half.

FULL GAME RECAP

Mackenzie Mgbako tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, two steals, and two assists in 25 minutes.

Kel’el Ware contributed 14 points, six rebounds, and two blocks. He showed his potential in the second half with a highlight-reel alley-oop dunk and a three-pointer from the wing.

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Gabe Cupps added four points, two rebounds, a steal, and hounding second-half defense.

Anthony Walker might have been the biggest surprise with his overall play. He produced six points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.

Payton Sparks left the game early with a lower leg injury, but he recorded two points, two rebounds, and a steal in nine minutes.

Mgbako took the opening half to get comfortable. He missed his first three shots in the lane before getting a layup and a dunk late in the first half. Mgbakao, who was arrested last weekend, settled in nicely during the second half. His left-corner triple was one of only three three-pointers Indiana made in the game.

Ware will never be the most physical player, ala Sparks, but his energy and effort levels were solid throughout. His physicality needs to be a continual progression, but for an exhibition game, it was not something to dwell on.

There are not many seven-foot-two players in the world that can knock down a three on one end and then block a shot at the top of the square on the other. Ware did that in the second half to help the Hoosiers outscore the Greyhounds 49-25 after halftime.

Speaking of the second half, Cupps played a significant role in the turnaround as well. His on-ball defense against Josiah Tynes was merciless. Cupps forced ball-handling errors and a backcourt violation with his intense defense.

“We just need it every night,” sophomore CJ Gunn said of Cupps. “His effort and his defensive pressure, that does nothing, but it’s contagious to all of us. Seeing him work and seeing him apply pressure on the ball, makes us want to get stops and get deflections and get steals. We need that type of energy coming off the bench to lift us up as a team.”

“Especially coming from a freshman,” Walker said of Cupps. “For him to come out his first game, apply the pressure he did make a statement for the team and other guards and our perimeter players on defense. So it was very important for him to do that.”

Walker turned heads with his defensive versatility and offensive production. Walker averaged 4.9 points per game throughout his four-year career at the University of Miami, but he showed flashes of being able to push the ball in transition, make passes in the half court, and score in the lane.

“We brought him on board because we thought he does a little bit of everything,” said Woodson. “I had to get on him in the one timeout because they were in the zone and we threw it a couple times to him and he looked like he was hesitant. And then he came right back after me getting on him, and he responded with two buckets inside the zone. He’s been scoring and doing a lot of different things for us in practice, and I don’t want that to go the other way.

“I mean, I brought him here to play. And what he did at Miami is behind him. He’s just got to worry about what he’s going to do here for us.”

Walker averaged 9.6 points per game during his sophomore season for the Hurricanes, and that was the only year he played more than 14 minutes per contest. The potential is there for him to help offensively, but his defense stood out the most. He moved well in space, pressured the ball, deflected passes, and elevated quickly for blocks.

Sparks pumped life into the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall crowd in the first half with his spin move finish in the paint. The strongest player on the court, it is clear that Sparks will be the enforcer for Indiana this season.