WATCH: Malik Reneau Hits Tamar Bates on Back-Door Cut for Easy Dunk

Indiana Malik Reneau found Tamar Bates for an easy dunk against Morehead State.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana is finding offense production in new ways on Monday.

Freshman forward Malik Reneau held the ball on the left wing and took on dribble before threading a one-handed pass towards the basket. 

Sophomore guard Tamar Bates caught the Morehead State defense sleeping and made a quick back-door cut through the lane. 

Bates caught the pass and slammed it home for two points. This dunk gave Indiana an 18-17 lead over Morehead State nearly midway through the first half of the Hoosiers' season opener on Monday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

✅ Pretty pass
✅ Pretty finish@tbates_11 hammers it home for @IndianaMBB.

💻: https://t.co/OaVD3l84Xp pic.twitter.com/YJmFecH7t6

— Indiana On BTN (@IndianaOnBTN) November 8, 2022

Indiana held Morehead State to eight points across the final 9:17 of the first half, taking a 41-29 lead into halftime. Trayce Jackson-Davis leads the Hoosiers with 13 points and seven rebounds, followed by six points from Race Thompson, five points from Bates and Reneau and four points from Xavier Johnson, Jordan Geronimo and Jalen Hood-Schifino.

Morehead State's Mark Freeman – the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year – leads all scorers with 14 points, connecting on 3-of-4 attempts from 3-point range. 

To follow along with all the action, CLICK HERE to read our live blog, written by HoosiersNow.com publisher, Tom Brew.

Next up for Indiana is a matchup with Bethune-Cookman on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. Indiana defeated Marian and Saint Francis easily in the first two exhibition games.

Related stories on Indiana basketball:

• LIVE BLOG: The 2022-23 college basketball season is ready to go, with No. 13 Indiana taking on Morehead State at Assembly. Here's your live blog, straight from press row. Follow along for the latest news and views, with some highlights and opinion thrown in. CLICK HERE
• WATCH XAVIER JOHNSON'S FIRST BASKET: Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson drove hard to the basket to score the Hoosiers' first points of the 2022-23 season. CLICK HERE
• HOW TO WATCH SEASON OPENER: Indiana basketball opens the 2022-23 regular season on Monday against Morehead State at 7 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Here's how to watch, three leading storylines, the latest on the point spread, the coaching matchup, series history and more. CLICK HERE
• HOOSIERS BIG FAVORITE OVER MOREHEAD STATE: The college basketball season starts Monday and the opening point spreads are out. Indiana is a huge favorite over Morehead State. The Hoosiers fared very well at Assembly Hall last year is big favorite. Here are all the numbers, and some great history on both teams. CLICK HERE
• 2022-23 INDIANA BASKETBALL SCHEDULE: The 2022-2023 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball scheduled is now finalized with game time and TV information for every matchup. Here is the full schedule, plus links to our stories for the game already played. CLICK HERE