BB: Indiana All-Stars sweep Kentucky boys

LOUISVILLE – The Indiana All-Stars kept Kentucky’s number in the annual All-Star series June 11 at Bellarmine University’s Knights Hall – barely.

Trailing 90-79 with less than five minutes left in regulation, the Hoosier Stars went on a 21-7 rally to knock off the Bluegrass State, 100-97. It was Indiana’s third consecutive victory over Kentucky and its 10th win in last 11 meetings.

Purdue recruit Terone Johnson was the Indiana player who led the rally. With the Hoosiers trailing 95-91 with 2:07 left, the North Central (Indianapolis) product hit a runner in the lane to trim the lead to two. After two free throws by Kentucky’s Taylor Epley, Johnson knocked down a 3-pointer to pull Indiana within one at 97-96. 

Following two missed free throws by Kentucky’s Will Evans, Johnson gave Indiana the lead for good at 98-97 with another runner with 34 seconds remaining. After Epley missed a trey near the top of the key, Indiana Mr. Basketball DeShaun Thomas downed two charity tosses to put the Hoosiers up three.

Epley tried another three right before the final horn, but it did not even reach the rim.

Kentucky had scored the first six points of the contest and led 16-10 near the midway point of the first half when Epley converted a putback basket. Indiana countered with a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the contest at 17-16. 

Bloomington North’s Julian Boatner provided the advantage by sinking a 3-pointer with 8:44 remaining in the half. Boatner, a William & Mary signee, then nailed another trey with 7:34 left in the half to put the Hoosiers up 22-18.

But that lead evaporated quickly thanks to Kentucky’s free throw shooting. On the same sequence, Boatner fouled Kentucky’s Ricardo Johnson and Indiana coach Ron Hecklinski received a technical foul. Kentucky Mr. Basketball Elisha Justice hit both technical shots, followed by two free throws by Johnson to deadlock the game at 22.

Hecklinski’s “T” did not hamper the Indiana Stars too much. They went on a 6-1 spurt to take their largest lead of the half at 28-23 with 4:49 left.

That is when 6-foot-2 Aaron Watts entered the contest and became a thorn in Indiana’s side.

Kentucky concocted a 7-0 run to go up 30-28 as Watts nailed two threes during that spurt. After Indiana’s Michael Harris made a bucket, Watts nailed another three to put the Bluegrass up 33-30.

The Hoosiers went on a 9-2 spurt to go up 39-35 with under 30 seconds left before intermission. But Watts nailed his fourth three of the half with two seconds remaining to cut Indiana’s lead at the break to one, 39-38.

Kentucky took its first double-digit lead near the halfway mark of the second half. Leading 66-61, Kentucky’s Colt Barnhill made a basket and drew the fourth foul on New Albany’s Donnie Hale. Shortly after the foul, the officials whistled Hale for a technical, resulting in his fifth personal foul. Hale scored only two points.

Kentucky’s Will Evans converted both technical foul shots, followed by Barnhill completing the three-point play with a free throw to put the Bluegrass up 71-61.

Terone Johnson paced the Hoosiers with 23 points, 21 coming in the second half. Thomas had 18, teammate Chrishawn Hopkins had 17, and Tyrae Robinson added 16.

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INDIANAPOLIS – Mr. Basketball DeShaun Thomas led the Indiana All-Stars with a double-double of 28 points and 12 rebounds June 12 as the Hoosier boys swept Kentucky and earned their fifth straight win in the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Series, 81-69, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

North Central’s Terone Johnson also had 25 points, six rebounds, and four assists a night after he led Indiana to a 100-97 road win with 23 points. Indiana has won 12 of 13 and 22 of 25 against the Kentucky All-Stars. The Purdue-bound Johnson and Thomas – an Ohio State recruit from Fort Wayne Luers – scored 35 of Indiana’s first 49 points as Indiana slowly pulled away from the visitors from the Bluegrass State.

New Albany’s Donnie Hale went scoreless in 12 minutes, but he did have four rebounds — including three offensive — and added an assist and a blocked shot.

After a sloppy first half that Indiana would lead 31-26, the Hoosier boys opened the second half on a 10-3 run. The streak began with a Julian Boatner (Bloomington North, William & Mary) 3-pointer and was capped by a Thomas putback that compelled Kentucky coach Mike Listerman to call a timeout.

After Kentucky cut the deficit to 44-41, Indiana responded with a decisive Johnson-led 12-0 run. Johnson hit a 3-pointer to increase the cushion to six and followed with a layup for a 49-41 Indiana advantage. Indianapolis Manual’s Chrishawn Hopkins hit a 3-pointer, Jake Kitchell took a soft pass from Hale for an uncontested layup, then Johnson capped the run with a layup on a pass from Hopkins, who will play for Butler next season. 

Hopkins had 12 points, five boards, and four assists, while Kitchell – an Indiana State recruit – scored just six points but led the Hoosiers with 15 rebounds.

The lead ballooned to 59-42 on the night’s prettiest play: an alley-oop from Winchester’s Neal Bashears to Hopkins, who at 6-foot-1 dunked over Kentucky’s 6-foot-7 Elijah Pittman.

Kentucky cut Indiana’s 70-62 with just under three minutes to play, but Thomas all but sealed the victory with a three-point play with 2:29 remaining. 

Kentucky was led by its Mr. Basketball, Elijah Justice. The Louisville-bound Justice finished with 20 points, three rebounds, and four assists. 

Jeffersonville’s Kegan Clark sat out both games of the Indiana-Kentucky series with a sprained ankle. 

In the opening girls game Friday, Indiana defeated Kentucky for the third consecutive time, 93-83. The Hoosier Stars have won seven of the last nine meetings with the Bluegrass State.

Then on Saturday, Kentucky’s Ebony Rowe and Antonita Slaughter combined for 46 points and 19 rebounds as Kentucky downed Indiana’s girls, 94-87, in overtime. Indiana led 42-35 at the half but was outscored 43-36 in the second before Kentucky outscored the Hoosier girls 16-9 in the extra session. 

Indiana Miss Basketball Courtney Moses of Oak Hill scored 27 points, grabbed seven boards, and had four steals and four assists to earn the game’s Most Valuable Player honors.