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3-point barrage helps No. 16 Indiana roll past Austin Peay

Robert Johnson

Indiana guard Robert Johnson (4) shoots in front of Austin Peay forward Assane Diop (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016. Indiana won 97-62. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

AP

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) James Blackmon Jr. scored 24 points and Robert Johnson added 20 Wednesday night as No. 16 Indiana blew out Austin Peay 97-62.

Indiana (10-2) extended its home-court winning streak to 26 games - the fifth-longest in school history.

Josh Robinson had 21 points for the Governors (4-9), who have lost seven straight.

Austin Peay kept the score close - until the Hoosiers figured out how to beat their zone defense.

Center Thomas Bryant started a flurry of three straight 3s that extended Indiana’s 17-15 lead to 26-18 midway through the first half. The Hoosiers pulled away by making 11 of 18 3s in the half including a half-court buzzer beater.

They finished 15 of 26 from beyond the arc.

Johnson’s first 10 shots all were 3s and he wound up making a career high six. Josh Newkirk had 11 points and a career-high 11 assists for Indiana.

John Murry had 18 points for Austin Peay, which trailed 48-31 at halftime and never got any closer in the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Austin Peay: The recent struggles have been mostly a result of shoddy defense and against the Big Ten’s top scoring team, those flaws were glaring. The Governors have one more chance to find a solution before starting Ohio Valley Conference play.

Indiana: The soft part of the schedule is over and now the defending Big Ten champs’ margin for error shrinks. But in the process, they have put together a solid resume that includes two wins over opponents ranked No. 3 (Kansas and North Carolina), a loss to No. 18 Butler and the inexplicable overtime loss at Fort Wayne.

UP NEXT

Austin Peay: Has its final non-conference tuneup Wednesday at Western Kentucky.

Indiana: Begins defense of its conference title Wednesday when Nebraska visits. The Cornhuskers are 1-5 all-time in Bloomington.

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More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25.