BLOOMINGTON – Indiana was well on its way to an easy victory against Bryant, leading the Bulldogs by 36 points less than five minutes into the second half.

But Assembly Hall was dead silent.

Maurice Creek was on the floor, holding his left knee in pain. The team’s leading scorer got fouled while heading to Bryant’s basket and fell hard. He eventually had to leave on a stretcher, shaking up the season and making the 90-42 victory against the Bulldogs a footnote.

Creek fractured his left knee, IU coach Tom Crean said. Creek is “probably” going to miss the rest of the season. Surgery is scheduled for today in Indianapolis.

“It’s gut-wrenching in so many fronts when you see a young man like that go down that works as hard as he does,” Crean said. “… He’s one of the best freshmen in America and his season is over. It probably hasn’t hit him yet.”

The Hoosiers (6-6) matched last season’s victory total by winning its final non-conference game of the season Monday. But what was expected to be a difficult Big Ten season will get even tougher without Creek.

The freshman entered the game averaging 17.6 points per game, tops among all Big Ten freshmen. The highlight was a 31-point performance in a loss to Kentucky on Dec. 12.

The injury occurred with 15:26 left in the game. The entire team raced over and clapped as a show of support before he was taken away.

It will take an entire team effort to make up for Creek’s absence.

“That maturity is going to get tested. Maurice Creek on the court brings confidence because of his athleticism, his talent and ability to score,” Crean said. “That’s what great players do. Well, we’re going to have to find confidence from one another.”

Some of the scoring burden could fall to fellow freshman Christian Watford, who had 15 points and nine rebounds.

Sophomore guard Verdell Jones III also had 15 points. Sophomore forward Tom Pritchard finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Jordan Hulls, making his first start, had 12 points, three assists and three steals.

It’s the fewest points the team has given up since beating Western Illinois 92-40 Dec. 9, 2006. It’s also the team’s largest margin of victory since topping Western Carolina 100-52 Dec. 15, 2007.

None of that mattered.

“It (stinks) seeing a teammate go down, a friend,” Pritchard said, “but our team is going to have to rally together.”

lpope@jg.net