A VERY SAD NEWS FOR INDIANA HOOSIER: HE IS BACK....

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — The first shot Race Thompson took Wednesday night bloodied his left temple.

He spent the rest of the game counterpunching.

Thompson scored a season-high 20 points and had eight rebounds to help No. 11 Indiana beat Little Rock 87-68, finishing the game with a headband stained red from the inadvertent blow he took 11 1/2 minutes into the game.

“I don’t even know (what happened),” the fifth-year senior said. “I think it was somebody’s elbow, but I’ve got a real big gash.”

The Hoosiers needed everything they could get out of Thompson especially wiht preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis out because of a sore back and Jackson-Davis’ replacement, Malik Reneau flirting with foul trouble through most of the second half.

Thompson delivered with a near-perfect night — making seven of eight shots and all six free throws to help the short-handed Hoosiers go 5-0 for the second straight season.

Reneau had 10 points and six rebounds, most in the first half. Xavier Johnson had nine points and 10 assists.

RAW: FL: PANTHERS FANS STREET CELEBRATION
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Myron Gardner, the reigning Ohio Valley Conference player of the week, had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Trojans. D.J. Smith scored 20 points to lead Little Rock (2-4), which has lost all three in the series and is 3-13 against Big Ten foes.

But they ran out of steam late.

“To compete and come back and really stick around the whole basketball game till the last seven or eight minutes. I thought it was something good to build on,” Little Rock coach Darrell Walker said.

Indiana first seized control with a 15-5 run that started with a four-point possession when Thompson was inadvertently hit in the head by Gardner and Flagrant 1 was called. Thompson went to the locker room for medical attention and when the run ended, Indiana led 37-22.

But Little Rock cut the deficit to 39-30 at halftime and scored the first three points of the second half when Thompson donned a new headband. The Trojans stayed close until Indiana went on a 12-3 to rebuild 60-45 lead and after Little Rock again closed to seven, the Hoosiers sealed it with a 14-1 spurt.