Indiana basketball continued its non-conference homestand, facing off against South Carolina at Assembly Hall.
After dropping a heartbreaking season opener against North Florida, South Carolina quickly bounced back, defeating its next two opponents by an average of 24 points.
Now, hitting the road for the first time this season, South Carolina was tasked with facing a tough ranked opponent in Indiana.
After going down 4-0 to start the game, Indiana went on a 17-1 run and never looked back, retaining the lead for the remainder of the game.
The 17-1 run was highlighted by eight points from Myles Rice and seven points from Mackenzie Mgbako.
The duo shined throughout the game, leading the offense for Indiana.
Rice was the games leading scorer, scoring 23 points on seven-for-ten shooting from the field and three-for-four shooting from beyond the arc. Rice also added four rebounds, three assists and a steal to his stellar shooting performance, ending the afternoon with a +/- of +20.
Despite the strong performances from both Mgbako and Rice, both credited Kanaan Carlyle for his intensity on offense and defense.
Rice reflected on how impactful Carlyle is when he plays with a spark on offense.
“It’s amazing. Just like any other guy that plays at a great offensive rate. I just feel like today was one of them days… He’s an extremely hard worker and takes no days off. It was only just a matter of time before he got his shot going and everything just kind of came within a rhythm.”
Offensively, Carlyle finished the game with 12 points on five-for-nine shooting from the field and two-for-five shooting from three point area. Carlyle also added two assists, a block, and a steal, finishing the game with a +/- of +15.
Going into the game, Carlyle was averaging just three points per game across two starts this season.
Even with his numbers being low, Rice never was concerned about the skill level Carlyle could bring to the table.
“It was only just a matter of time before he got his shot going and everything just kind of came within a rhythm.”
In addition to his success on offense, Carlyle’s work on the defensive side was a huge contribution in limiting South Carolina’s offensive production.
Rice explained the vision he has when watching Carlyle play.
“He makes me want to be a better defensive player… just to see it translates from practice to game, so when game time comes he’s just causing havoc and everything. Makes it easier to play with and for a guy like that.”
Rice has definitely found it easy playing with Carlyle. With nearly five minutes on the clock in the first half, Rice tossed a lob to the rim from half court to Carlyle, who slammed it in for the alley-oop dunk.
Rice isn’t the only player who’s found it effortless to play with Carlyle.
Mgbako has found Indiana’s new starting backcourt to be helping the team look better as a whole.
“It’s amazing. So much easier just being able to run with Myles (Rice) and K (Kanaan Carlyle), getting on the break and easy buckets and us feeding off each other and the energy.”
Defeating South Carolina was definitely a big true test victory for Indiana, which should help add onto the building confidence the team will need going forward.
Looking ahead, Indiana basketball will stay at home, facing off against UNC Greensboro Thursday night.
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