Darian DeVries has rousing debut as Indiana blasts Alabama A&M

Reed Bailey scored 21 points and Tucker DeVries added 18 points and 11 rebounds as Indiana opened the Darian DeVries era with a 98-51 rout of Alabama A&M Wednesday night in Bloomington, Ind.

DeVries, who lured 10 transfers and three freshmen after taking over the Indiana job in March, watched his squad rack up 23 assists on 36 baskets that included 13 dunks and 10 3-pointers.

Sam Houston transfer Lamar Wilkerson scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half. Florida transfer Sam Alexis came off the bench and hit his first six shots to finish with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Point guard Tayton Conerway contributed 14 points and five assists while Tucker DeVries, who spent his first four years playing for his father at Drake and West Virginia, surpassed the 2,000-point mark for his career when he hit a 3-pointer with 6:10 to play.

Louis Hutchinson scored 15 points and Kintavious Dozier added 12 to pace Alabama A&M, which lost its road opener for the fifth year in a row.

Koron Davis converted a 3-point play on the Bulldogs' first possession to take a 3-0 lead, but the visitors managed just two points over the next eight minutes as Indiana blew out to a 23-5 bulge.

Wilkerson sparked the early spree with a 3-pointer. After Conerway, Bailey, DeVries and Alexis took turns getting on the board, Wilkerson buried a 3-pointer while getting fouled and then swished a 3-pointer on the next possession from well beyond the arc to make it 23-5 at the 12:38 mark.

Indiana's five-out attack and pinpoint passing continued to create open space against Alabama A&M's man-to-man. Bailey fed DeVries a backdoor pass for a layup, DeVries lobbed an alley-oop to Alexis for a jam and then set up Alexis for a 3-pointer to give Indiana a 39-10 lead on the way to a 58-22 halftime advantage.

The Hoosiers didn't let up after the break. Conerway and Bailey worked a two-man game that led to a Bailey slam for a 63-25 lead with 16:41 to go. On the Bulldogs' ensuing possession, Conerway picked Sami Pissis' pocket for a steal. Conerway had the ball ahead of the pack, but he passed it off the glass to Bailey for another slam for the Hoosiers' first 40-point lead.

After an Alabama A&M timeout, Alexis hit Wilkerson for a dunk.

Bailey pounded three more dunks and Conerway jammed two as the Hoosiers, who had just eight scholarship players available, kept the pedal down until Darian DeVries cleared the bench with 4:28 to play.

--Field Level Media