Game one: Seniors fend off juniors

IU commit Devin Davis (15) finished Monday night's Junior-Senior All-Star Game with 14 points and 13 rebounds, giving him the night's only double-double.

SEYMOUR — Indiana’s 2013 class might not command the same national spotlight as its counterpart one year older, but that didn’t register much on Monday night.

In the first of two exhibition games this week between the Indiana Junior and Senior All-Stars, the state’s rising senior class gave its graduating generation all the 2012 group could handle, rallying from a 21-point deficit and carrying the game all the way to the final minutes before falling 104-97. Michigan signee Glenn Robinson III and Wolverines commit Zak Irvin led their teams with 21 and 20 points, respectively.

The state of Indiana’s 2012 class as a whole is regarded as one of the nation’s best. The Senior All-Stars’ starting lineup boasted players committed to Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State and Butler, among others, and the group has bench players headed for the Big Ten and Big East as well.

For the middle third of the game, that cream rose.

This year’s Mr. Basketball, Michigan State signee Gary Harris, at times looked unstoppable at both ends of the floor, finishing with 19 points, four steals and three assists.

Future Indiana point guard Yogi Ferrell struggled with turnovers, committing six, but he also pulled in seven rebounds to add to his 11 points.

And Ron Patterson, one of Ferrell’s future teammates in Bloomington, put in an excellent performance from the bench, scoring 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in just 17 minutes of action.

But the seniors’ lack of size cost them, to the tune of 22 offensive rebounds, and a 30-12 advantage for the juniors in second-chance points. And as the night’s young upstarts rallied, a pair of AAU teammates led the way.

Indiana commitment Devin Davis grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go with his 14 points, giving him the night’s only double-double. And Irvin, Davis’ teammate with Eric Gordon All-Stars on the summer circuit, knocked in eight of his 18 shots to score those 20 points, and help haul the juniors back into the game.

Turnovers also cost the seniors, who gave the ball away 20 times to the juniors’ 11.

The first of two warm-up games for this weekend’s headline act — the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star series — Monday night’s game closed to within five points late in the second half, before the seniors asserted themselves finally, holding their opponents at arm’s length until the final buzzer.

Harris and Irvin, formerly high school teammates at Hamilton Southeastern and soon-to-be Big Ten rivals, traded baskets in the final 10 seconds to bring the score to its final tally.

Both sides will meet again Wednesday, in the second game of the annual series. The action starts at 6 p.m. at Pendleton (Ind.) Heights, with the girls’ game tipping first.