The Indiana Junior All-Stars are playing the Kentucky Junior All-Stars twice this weekend before playing the Indiana All-Stars Wednesday at New Albany High School. Saturday, Indiana lost to Kentucky 113-109 in overtime.

Kentucky took advantage of its height advantage to dominate Indiana on the boards. Indiana was missing Keion Brooks and Trayce Jackson-Davis because they are at the U18 USA trials. Indiana was also without Brandon Newman, Isaiah Thompson, Mason Gillis, and David Bell. Thompson has missed the entire spring with a broken foot. Gillis is coming back from knee surgery. Those missing players put Indiana behind the 8-ball.

Kyle Rode, Michael Moreno, Nick Thelen, and Isaiah Cozart all had double-digit rebounds for Kentucky. Moreno finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds including many big plays down the stretch.

Indiana nearly offset the lack of size by hitting 13 three-pointers. Alex Hemmenway connected on five triples while Cobie Barnes and Armaan Franklin hit three each. Barnes had a monster game with 30 points and 15 rebounds. Hemmenway and Franklin each scored 22 points. Jared Hankins added 20.

Former Louisville University commit David Johnson led Kentucky with 28 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Johnson is a great athlete with excellent size and skill. He proved to be a major problem for Indiana.

The Indiana Junior core and north will play Kentucky Sunday at Ben Davis High School. The boys will follow the girls game which begins at 2 pm.