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Indiana Spring Game Showcases Stout Run Game, Opportunistic Defense

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Indiana Spring Game Showcases Stout Run Game, Opportunistic Defense


BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Head football coach Curt Cignetti boiled the Indiana Spring Game down to its essence after its conclusion Thursday night at Memorial Stadium.

“Some good, some bad, some ugly,” Cignetti said.

In the modified scoring system used for the Spring Game, which was more like a scrimmage, the Offense defeated the Defense, 31-23.

It was the first chance for fans to see players like quarterback Fernando Mendoza, running backs Roman Hemby and Lee Beebe Jr., and freshmen like cornerback Byron Baldwin Jr.

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Other familiar names were not on the field. Wide receiver Elijah Sarratt and linebacker Aiden Fisher did not participate. Neither did defensive end Mikail Kamara. Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds played, but only briefly.

Cignetti said after the game that Sarratt and Fisher “dinged up their knees” in Indiana’s final practice, but neither injury is thought to be serious. There was not an explanation for Kamara’s absence.

The Spring Game was split into segments, with the No. 1 offense facing the No. 1 defense, the No. 2 offense facing the No. 2 defense and so on.

Fernando Mendoz

Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza (15) passes during the Indiana football spring game at Memorial Stadium on Thursday, April 17, 2025. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No official statistics were kept, but unofficially Fernando Mendoza completed 11 of 15 passes for 137 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Alberto Mendoza completed 11 of 14 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Indiana’s ground game was stout. Kaelon Black rushed for 62 yards on seven carries, including a 40-yard scamper. Beebe rushed for 53 yards against a mix of defensive units. Maryland transfer Roman Hemby rushed for 26 yards. All of the backs averaged at least 3.7 yards per carry.

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Cignetti spoke highly of Black, the lone holdover from Indiana’s 2024 backfield.

“He’s got good speed. He’s got a lot of juice. He’s been with us a long time,” Cignetti said.

The No. 1 offense demonstrated resilience on its first series. Mendoza converted one 3rd-and-14 pass and one fourth down pass. Both were long gainers. The first was a 26-yard catch by new tight end Holden Staes, and the second was a 23-yard reception by E.J. Williams. It allowed Mendoza to find Omar Cooper Jr. for a 13-yard touchdown pass.

After that, the defense held sway. They held the No. 2 defense to the equivalent of a punt, worth three points, and then when the No. 1s came back on the field, one of Indiana’s most opportunistic players did his thing.

Linebacker Rolijah Hardy jumped in front of a sideline pass and went 43 yards untouched for an interception return touchdown. The defense led 10-7 before the No. 2 offense tied the game with a field goal just before the first quarter ended.

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“His last week of spring was really, really good, and that’s how we need him to play when he comes back in the fall. He’s got a lot of talent,” said Cignetti on Hardy.

After the defense stopped another drive by the No. 1 offense for three points to take a 13-10 lead, running back Khobie Martin coughed up the ball after a handoff near midfield. Freshman defensive back Seaonta Stewart scooped up the loose ball to give the defense another four points awarded for a turnover.

Seaonta Stewart Jr.

Indiana’s Seaonta Stewart Jr. (9) runs after picking up a fumble during the Indiana football spring game at Memorial Stadium on Thursday, April 17, 2025. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Working with a short field after the turnover, Beebe dominated a short 40-yard drive. He had a 24-yard catch and rushed for the rest of the 16 yards, including a 5-yard drive to tie the game at 17.

The defense made two more stops before the Indiana offense got into a better rhythm. With the No. 1s on the field, Mendoza engineered a 63-yard scoring drive capped by a 12-yard Cooper touchdown catch.

After that, the No. 2 offense got a touchdown after a 70-yard drive. Wide receiver Lebron Bond caught a 6-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Alberto Mendoza.

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Cignetti did not comment much on Thursday’s performance, but he said both Fernando and Alberto Mendoza made strides in spring practice.

“I thought his last three practices, one of which was a scrimmage, he made major strides. It really started to click. I felt really good before the scrimmage where we were there with him. I think Alberto had a good spring, too,” Cignetti said.

The transfer portal, which opened Wednesday, should give Indiana the opportunity to add pieces and depth where needed. Cignetti mentioned that, but declined to say what he’s specifically looking for.

Apart from that, there was a sense of optimism coming out of spring practice. Fisher didn’t play, but he talked to the media about where the Hoosiers are as a team.

“When you have guys that are adapted to the system, everybody’s comfortable and familiar and you’re playing a lot faster. It’s like a game every single day we go out there. So we’ve gotten a lot better this spring,” Fisher said.

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Indiana won’t have any official action until fall camp opens sometime in late July or early August. The season opener is on Aug. 30 as the Hoosiers host Old Dominion.



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Police shoots man armed with knife in Gary, Indiana, officials say

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Police shoots man armed with knife in Gary, Indiana, officials say



A man wielding a knife was shot by a police officer on Sunday in Gary, Indiana.

A spokesperson for the city said officers responded to the 2100 block of Tennessee Street for a call of a suicidal man who was armed with a knife in his hand. The man had already stabbed himself a couple of times before they arrived.

Officers found the man in the east alley of 22nd and Ohio. At this time, he was standing in the alley still with the knife in his hand and refused to drop it as ordered by officers. The man then started to advance toward the officer, who shot the man three times in the arm, the spokesperson said.

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The officer notified the department that shots were fired, and the man was down. The condition of the man is unknown as of Sunday night.

Other officers responded to the scene to set up a perimeter around the area. The Gary Fire Department and Lake County Crime Scene Investigation personnel were also contacted.

No further information was immediately available. 


If you or someone you know is in emotional distress, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Trained crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day to talk about anything.

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50+ Indiana counties under travel advisories after snow storm. See map

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50+ Indiana counties under travel advisories after snow storm. See map


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At least 50 Indiana counties are under a travel advisory, and 20 counties were issued a travel watch for Dec. 14, following an overnight snow storm.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) travel advisory map has each county shaded in red for a travel warning, orange for a travel watch, yellow for a travel advisory and gray for a county without an elevated status report on it’s current travel conditions.

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Here’s how you can check your county to see where it lands on the map.

Travel advisory

According to DHS, a travel advisory is the lowest level of a related advisory.

“Routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation, and individuals should use caution or avoid those areas,” the department says on its website.

Watch advisory

According to DHS, a watch advisory is issued when conditions are threatening to a county’s safety.

“Only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended, and emergency action plans should be implemented by businesses, schools, government agencies and other organizations,” the department’s website states.

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Warning advisory

According to DHS, a warning advisory is the highest level of a related advisory, where people may be told not to travel at all.

“Travel may be restricted to emergency management workers only,” the department’s website states.

Here’s the winter weather info you need

🚨 Indiana Weather Alerts: Warnings, Watches and Advisories.

⚡ Indiana power outage map: How to check your status.

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💻 Internet outages: How to track them.

🚫 What you should and shouldn’t do when the power is out.

🐶 Your neighbor left their pet outside. Who you should call.

Indianapolis weather radar

Jade Jackson is a public safety reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON



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What Darian DeVries, Tucker DeVries Said After Indiana Basketball’s Loss at Kentucky

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What Darian DeVries, Tucker DeVries Said After Indiana Basketball’s Loss at Kentucky


LEXINGTON, Ky. — Indiana basketball coach Darian DeVries and senior forward Tucker DeVries met with reporters after the Hoosiers’ 72-60 loss to Kentucky on Saturday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington.

Here’s what the DeVries duo said during their near-seven-minute press conference.


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Q: I guess, Darian, it’s sort of another night where it feels like it just kind of gets difficult to really break down an opponent off the dribble, kind of get that inside-out sort of paint touch to three looks you want, just like what, I guess, are you guys, what’s not happening there, what’s just kind of sort of failing at the source offensively when that’s not working? 

DD: Yeah, I thought the first half, you know, we got some pretty good action, pretty good movement, I thought the second half, Kentucky certainly turned up the pressure and was able to get into us and we didn’t respond well enough and we turned the ball over too much and live ball turnovers against them are really hard because now they’re out in transition playing in space, so the turnovers and the offensive rebounding, I mean, that flipped the game around that second half. 

Q: On Kentucky’s long run, what was the problem there?

Yeah, I thought the turnovers, it was a combination of things, I thought, you know, we left our feet a few times, I thought we just, you know, got on our heels a little bit and didn’t play as disciplined as we needed to, you know, as that, you know, the crowd got cranked up and things, that’s the time where you got to really dig in a little bit more, your screen’s got to be better, you got to play off of two feet more, and then the offensive rebounds, you know, they just went and got them and, you know, we didn’t do a good enough job of creating space and getting bodies and going and securing the ball. 

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Q: What do you think you need to improve on, the team needs to improve on against ball pressure at the point of attack? 

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DD: Yeah, the number one thing when you get at ball pressure is everything from an execution standpoint and a movement standpoint, it’s just got to be done with more force, you can’t continue just to get pushed out and everybody stands, so you have to find ways to give yourself up with a back hook, give yourself up with a screen, set up those screens with more force, you know, and get some movement to, you know, even as, you know, they had gotten ahead and we started to break it off a little bit, once we got movement again, we were able to get those clean looks or better looks, so it’s something we got to get better at, there’s no question.

Q: Tucker, your individual line tonight was really great, I mean, your effort was fantastic, 15 points, 7 rebounds, a lot of the three point shots tonight didn’t go down like they normally do for the Hoosiers, what do you think that is, was it just not seeing the basket as well, was it the defense, was it not in the offense where you were getting clean looks? 

TUCKER DEVRIES: To be honest, making and missing shots, I thought tonight, honestly, wasn’t a problem, I know, certainly, I did not shoot it great, as a team we didn’t shoot that great either from three, but, you know, even with that being said, I think there were certainly areas that we needed to be a lot better at, as a group, and if we were able to, you know, especially in the second half, execute in those areas, I think that would have made up for some of those, you know, shooting habits and miscues, but, you know, making them missing shots sometimes is basketball, but I thought in the other areas, if we could just, you know, execute there a little bit.

Q: On that, if shots maybe weren’t the problem, what kind of was, do you think?

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TUCKER: I mean, he hit on it pretty good, the turnovers and obviously the offensive rebounds they had, especially in the second half. I mean, I take full responsibility for both of those areas. Obviously, four turnovers is far too many. As a group, I think when they pick up the pressure, I think we just need to really focus on our execution a little bit more on every possession. But good thing is we get a good week here before we play again to really dial in on some of those areas that we’ve maybe lacked in the beginning.

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Q: When Lamar picked up his fourth foul and missed nearly nine minutes, what went wrong offensively?

DD: Yeah, I don’t remember the exact sequences there, but, you know, not having Lamar out there is certainly a big part of our offense, and, you know, his foul trouble tonight certainly limited him with only the 21 minutes because he was, again, he’s, you know, a big focal piece of what we try to run our offense through, so, you know, I believe during that little stretch that he wasn’t out there, that’s when the turnovers started to happen and 

we weren’t able to get into, you know, maybe some of our actions the way we needed to. 

Q: Darian, you mentioned Kentucky’s offensive rebound and kind of flipping that game. Was that just their physicality, their effort out beating you guys or something else that you saw going on? 

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DD: Yeah, I thought their effort, their physicality in the second half was, you know, really good. I mean, they certainly cranked it up a notch in that second half and we needed to respond to it, but, you know, I thought their aggressiveness defensively, their aggressiveness in the offensive glass, you know, was ultimately the factor. 

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Q: Darian, you mentioned Lamar, but how much did the foul trouble for not just him, but other guys, affect you tonight?

DD:  I mean, foul trouble is foul trouble. You have it every night, so you’ve got to figure out a way to deal with it and, you know, we just didn’t do a good enough job with that.

Q: Just to follow up on that, with this team, and you’ve talked about sort of where you are with the two bigs and things like that, like does foul trouble become sort of a compounding problem when it disrupts rotations? It felt tonight like maybe guys were just not either on the floor long enough to find the rhythm or maybe had to be on the floor too long because other guys were in foul trouble. 

DD: Again, our guys, you know, their numbers are called, they’re ready to go. You know, certainly, you know, a guy like Lamar, you want him out there, but when he’s not out there, I feel very confident that the guys that are coming in are going to do their part and do their job and, you know, we certainly have a lot of faith in them, so, you know, unfortunately it just didn’t work out the way we wanted it to tonight.

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