National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Indiana 89, St. Francis (PA) 72
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Where: Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
Officials: # Kelly Pfeifer, # Jabir Walker, # John Floyd
Attendance: 5431

Juwan Morgan scored 28 points on 10-for-13 shooting and No. 1 seed Indiana rolled to an 89-72 win over No. 8 seed St. Francis (Pa.) in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night in Bloomington, Ind.

Aljami Durham added 22 points for Indiana (18-15), which trailed by six at halftime but posted a 55-32 edge in the second half. The Hoosiers advance to face fifth-seeded Arkansas, which beat fourth-seeded Providence 84-72 later Tuesday.

Isaiah Blackmon scored 21 points to lead St. Francis (18-15). Jamaal King had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Indiana capitalized on its size and strength to outscore the Red Flash 56-18 in the paint. The Hoosiers shot 51.5 percent (35 of 68) from the field, while St. Francis shot 36.9 percent (24 of 65).

The Hoosiers claimed their first double-digit lead when a layup by Morgan made it 59-49 with 11:16 to go in the second half. Moments later, Rob Phinisee stole the ball and fed a pass to Durham for another layup to push the lead to 61-49.

Indiana opened the second half on a 16-2 run to transform a six-point deficit into a 50-42 lead. Morgan played a prominent role in the outburst as he made two layups and threw down a slam dunk off a pass from Durham.

St. Francis built a 40-34 advantage at the half. King led the way with 16 first-half points on 5-for-9 shooting.

The Red Flash trailed by nine points with 10:13 to go before the break. They finished the half on a 27-12 run to grab the lead.

Indiana coach Archie Miller drew a technical foul in the final minute before intermission after he argued a non-call with officials. Miller believed that Phinisee had been fouled on a drive to the rim.

Instead, thanks to Miller's technical, King drained two free throws on the opposite end of the court to put the Red Flash on top by four points. Teammate Keith Braxton added two more free throws to finish the first-half scoring.

Indiana improved to 7-0 all-time against opponents from the Northeast Conference.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
St. Francis (PA)   Indiana
Isaiah Blackmon 21 Scoring Juwan Morgan 28
Jamaal King 5 Assists Devonte Green 6
Keith Braxton 9 Rebounds Justin Smith 9
Jamaal King 4 Free Throws Made Juwan Morgan 8
Ramiir Dixon-Conover 2 Steals Aljami Durham 1
Isaiah Blackmon 1 Blocks De'Ron Davis 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
St. Francis (PA) 72 36.9 9-24 15-18 11 37 2 5 12
Indiana 89 51.5 6-21 13-23 18 40 4 4 7