Indiana All-Stars assert dominance over Kentucky. 'We wanted to win by more than 20.'
OWENSBORO, Ky. – Indiana was down to nine players for Friday’s game vs. the Kentucky All-Stars at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
In this case, nine was enough — more than enough.
Indiana dunked, rattled and rolled its way to a 104-77 victory over Kentucky that started with an intense effort on the defensive end. It is the sixth consecutive win for Indiana, which is 23-2 against Kentucky since 2009 in the annual series pitting the top senior players from each state.
“Obviously we want to win,” Carmel’s Pete Suder said. “But we wanted to win by more than 20 points. That was our main goal. We have a lot of guards so we wanted to fly around and pressure the ball, switch on defense, then rebound and push in transition.”
GIRLS ALL-STARS: Down two of its best, Indiana edges Kentucky on Alyssa Crockett's game-winner
Indiana will go for the sweep Saturday at Southport Fieldhouse. If the game is anything like Friday, Kentucky will have trouble keeping up.
Lawrence North’s CJ Gunn, an Indiana recruit, led a balanced attack with 20 points. Pike’s Ryan Conwell filled the stat sheet with 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. In all, seven of the nine Indiana players finished in double figures.
“The first time we met I said, ‘I’m going to say it 85 times between now and Saturday, but we have to play great halfcourt defense because of our size,’” said Chad Johnston, the Indiana coach from South Bend Adams. “If we play defense and rebound, we will win. I said, ‘Give me those 25 or 30 minutes on defense and then we’ll do the things you want to do like shoot.’ They really bought into that in a short period of time, which is a credit to their high school coaches.”
Indiana jumped out to leads of 15-5 and 35-15 in the first half and was never seriously threatened. Kentucky was shell-shocked by the Indiana defense, committing 20 turnovers that led to 30 points — several of them on dunks. Indiana outscored Kentucky 33-5 on fast break points.
“We’re not too worried about how they play,” Conwell said of Kentucky. “It’s really just based on how we play. If we play defense, play hard and play together, we’ll be fine.”
The Indiana All-Stars, originally a 14-player roster, are down to nine players following the sprained ankle suffered by Central Noble’s Connor Essegian in Wednesday’s game against the Junior All-Stars at Mt. Vernon. The Wisconsin recruit did not make the trip to Owensboro, but it is expected to be in attendance at Southport, though he will not play.
INSIDER: 10 things we learned as shorthanded Indiana All-Stars get bragging rights over juniors
Cathedral’s Tayshawn Comer did not make the trip either after leaving camp at Marian University early Thursday due to a family situation. All-Stars director Mike Broughton and Johnston said they hope Comer can play Saturday, but understand if not.
Those losses were in addition to the expected absences of Mr. Basketball Braden Smith, who went through warmups and cheered from the bench Saturday as he recovers from foot surgery, Warren Central’s Tae Davis (on campus at Seton Hall) and Gary West Side’s Jalen Washington (who missed the season with a knee injury).
“(Comer) is my guy and I wish he could have been here,” Conwell said. “But we had other guys like (Travis) Grayson and Branden (Northern) step up and play really well. We are all really good players — pretty much the best players at our high schools — so we can all play.”
Suder helped set the tone with two offensive rebounds and putbacks in the first few minutes and took a charge on the defensive end. He finished with 11 points, six rebounds and five steals in 20 minutes. Chesterton’s Grayson had 12 points, five rebounds and two assists, Lafayette Jeff’s Javan Buchanan finished with 11 points and six rebounds, Cathedral’s Jaxon Edwards had 10 points and six rebounds and Silver Creek’s Northern had 10 points and two assists.
“I’ve been playing with and against a lot of these guys since about third grade,” Gunn said. “So knowing (Saturday) is that last time on the court together, you just kind of want to live in the moment and enjoy it.”
Johnston said it was obvious the team was enjoying its time together, which is obviously easier to do when up by 20 points at halftime.
“Number one, winning is fun,” Johnston said with a laugh. “But it’s been a very enjoyable week off the court, too. Getting to know these kids has been great. Even Tayshawn and Connor, they both checked in on the group chat before the game. It’s a really neat group of kids. I’m glad I had this opportunity to coach them and be around them.”
With one more high school game to go before he leaves for South Florida, Conwell said the week as an All-Star has been a learning experience. Indiana now leads the all-time series between the teams 102-44 and has won 43 of 51 dating to 1996.
“Throughout the whole week they’ve been telling us about the history,” Conwell said. “It’s good to hear about what we’re playing for.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
INDIANA 104, KENTUCKY 77
INDIANA – Peter Suder 5-7 0-0 11, Ryan Conwell 6-13 4-4 18, Jalen Jackson 1-4 2-2 4, Jaxon Edwards 5-10 0-0 10, Javan Buchanan 5-9 0-0 11, CJ Gunn 8-18 3-4 20, Travis Grayson 5-8 0-2 12, Amhad Jarrard 3-6 2-4 8, Branden Northern 4-7 1-1 10. Totals: 42-82 12-17 104.
KENTUCKY – Turner Buttry 2-6 2-2 7, Jaiden Lawrence 1-5 0-0 3, Andrew Mason 0-2 2-2 2, Mitchell Rylee 8-13 8-14 24, Jabrion Spikes 2-9 1-2 5, James Jewell 1-2 0-4 3, Kennedy Hayden 1-4 1-2 3, Sam Powell 7-9 0-1 17, Darien Lewis 1-3 1-2 3, Jay Milburn 1-5 2-2 4, Cade Stinnett 1-4 2-2 4, Gavin Stevens 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 26-63 19-33 77.
3-point goals: Indiana 8-19 (Grayson 2, Conwell 2, Suder, Buchanan, Gunn, Northern); Kentucky 6-17 (Powell 3, Buttry, Lawrence, Stevens); Rebounds: Indiana 44 (Conwell 10), Kentucky 41 (Rylee 6); Assists: Indiana 22 (Conwell 5, Jarrard 5); Kentucky 15 (Buttry 6); Turnovers: Indiana 7, Kentucky 20.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana All-Stars assert dominance over Kentucky, win sixth straight
