Jackson-Davis Scores 30, Indiana Holds On For Rare Road Win at Xavier

Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 30 points and Indiana held off a late Xavier rally to win 81-79 on Friday night. It was a huge nonconference road win for Indiana, its first since 2011, and it's the first of many difficult tests away from home in the next month.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Trayce Jackson-Davis has played enough college basketball to know that there are some games where he simply has to take over. He did that on Friday night, scoring 30 points as the No. 12 Hoosiers won a huge road game, beating Xavier 81-79 in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.

He impressed everyone, including his coach, his teammates and even Xavier coach Sean Miller. It was his seventh game with 30 points or more during his Indiana career.

''Trayce Jackson-Davis is one of the best players in college basketball and he showed that tonight,'' said Miller, the brother of former Indiana coach Archie Miller, who recruiting Jackson-Davis to Indiana. "He's so much better in the post and playing out of double-teams, and it's really difficult to double-team him. He really hurt us, and we gave up 50 points in the paint, which we don't do.

"We had 40 points of our own in the paint, and only had 12 turnovers. But our defense just wasn't good enough, and that's the story. We lost the game because we had no answer for him, but that's no easy task. We have a lot to learn from to get better, and that becomes the quest. Losing to Indiana, I'm disappointed, but they did a really good job.''

Jackson-Davis was efficient from start to finish. He was 13-of-16 shooting from the field, made 4-of-6 free throws, had six rebounds and three blocks. He's a first-team All-American for a reason, and even made all the right decisions, including finding Miller Kopp out of a double-team late in the game. Kopp hit a three-pointer to give Indiana a 78-70 lead — its biggest of the game — with 2:25 to go. It was scary down the finish, but the Hoosiers hung on for their first nonconference road win since beating NC State in 2011. 

"The biggest thing about me coming back and being selected an All-American, in this first road game, I took the load tonight and. that's something I'm willing to do,'' Jackson-Davis said. "In a hostile environment, you can never just assume that a game is going to be put away. But this is how we are different from the past. A lot of other teams I've been on, we would have folded. That's what we've really been focusing on.

"It feels great (to win on the road). We have a lot of high expectations coming into this year and this was our first real test. I'm glad we won, because it's really going to boost our confidence.''

Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 30 points on Friday night, and it was the seventh time he's scored 30 or more points in a game for Indiana. (Katie Stratman/USA TODAY Sports)

Indiana (3-0) jumped out to a 4-0 lead — with two Jackson-Davis baskets — but then Xavier (3-1) took over and led the entire first half. They hit four three-pointers and led by nine points on two separate occasions. Indiana made a nice run in the final two minutes, though, getting a big three-pointer from Jalen Hood-Schifino and a basket and free throw from Jackson-Davis to go into the locker room trailing 40-38.

The Hoosiers took command out of the break, though. They went on a 12-6 to start the half, getting easy looks. Zach Freemantle's dunk with 6:35 to go was Xavier's last lead at 66-65. Freshman Malik Reneau hit two free throws to put Indiana back ahead and then Xavier Johnson made two free throws, got a steal and scored on a layup to make it 71-66. And every time Xavier answered, the Hoosiers snapped back.

Kopp's three-pointer gave them the cushion they would eventually need at 78-70

"I told Miller to keep shooting, keep firing, because I knew he was going to hit a big one,'' Jackson-Davis said. "I knew he was going to stick it. I was running back on defense before he even caught the ball.''

A Johnson turnover led to a Colby Jones basket, making it 78-74. He made a free throw on the next possession, but Kopp was fouled and made two for Indiana, making it 80-75 with 1:50 to go. Souley Boum hit a three-pointer for Xavier with 56 seconds to go to cut the lead to 80-79. 

Reneau was fouled with 12 seconds to go and missed both attempts. Xavier's Adam Kunkel drove the lane but his shot rolled off the rim and Xavier Johnson rebounded. He made one free throw, and then Reneau deflected the inbounds pass with two seconds to go, and Indiana secured it to get its third straight win.

Indiana guard Xavier Johnson (0) reacts after making a three-pointer against Xavier on Friday. (Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports)

Johnson and Reneau were spectacular, too, though both got technicals for taunting that didn't help. Johnson scored 23 points, making 7-of-8 shots from the field and 7-of-10 free throws. Reneau had 12 points and six rebounds in just 16 minutes.

The trio of Jackson-Davis, Johnson and Reneau were a combined 25-for-33 shooting — an amazing 75.8 percent clip — while the rest of the team was just 5-for-25 from the field, a mere 20 percent. 

With high profile games looming against North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona and Rutgers in the next month, it was huge for the Hoosiers to get out of the Cintas Center with a win. Jackson-Davis made sure that happened against a very good Xavier team.

"They pushed us to the max, but I thought Trayce and Xavier brought it home for us,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "And Malik played well, too, even with four fouls. 

"The bottom line is that we have to do all the things right. It's hard to win on the road. We didn't go the other way, and we just held fast and was able to get back in it. It could have been anybody's game, but we made the plays at the end to win it.''

Woodson was impressed with his All-American, but he's also never surprised with the great things that Jackson-Davis does.

"He's capable of doing that. You've seen it over the years since he's been here,'' Woodson said. "I don't know if he's going to score 30 every night, but he played at a high level to help us win.'' 

The Hoosiers are back in action on Sunday, when they take on Miami of Ohio at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game starts at 5:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on the Big Ten Network, 

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