INDIANAPOLIS – After trailing by double digits in the first half, Indiana came back and defeated Baylor 76-74 Sunday in an exhibition in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

It was the second and final preseason exhibition for Indiana before the regular season begins. Indiana defeated Marian 107-46 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Oct. 27. First-year coach Darian DeVries got his team some reps against much stronger Division I competition after it dismantled its NAIA foe in the first exhibition.

Early on, Indiana appeared to not quite be on Baylor’s level. The Hoosiers couldn’t create easy looks on offense and struggled to rebound against a physical team. Baylor took a 13-point lead at one point in the first half, but Indiana cut the deficit to five by halftime.

The Hoosiers picked up the pace and got in the open floor to work their way back in the game. Indiana led for most of the second half, only for Baylor to retake a lead with 2:10 left. The teams traded scores for the final two minutes.

After Baylor’s Michael Rataj split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 74, Indiana guard Tayton Conerway drove coast-to-coast and finished a reverse layup (with a foul) to give Indiana the lead. After Conerway missed his free throw, Baylor’s Cameron Carr missed a game-winning 3 attempt and Dan Skillings Jr. couldn’t tip the putback home.

Indiana got the win thanks to the heroics of Conerway, the Troy transfer, who scored 15 points (13 in the second half).

Indiana guard Lamar Wilkerson led the charge for the Hoosiers with 28 points. Wilkerson was 6-of-15 from the field and 13-of-13 on free throws. The Sam Houston transfer operated all over the floor to get to his spots and score.

Wilkerson, a two-time first-team Conference USA selection, is expected to be one of Indiana’s two leading scorers this year alongside Tucker DeVries. He averaged 20.5 points per game while shooting 45% on 3s. When Indiana’s offense couldn’t get going in the first half, Wilkerson kept the Hoosiers in the game with 16 points in the first 20 minutes. Tucker DeVries added 18 points, six rebounds and five assists to give Indiana’s offense a lift.

The Hoosiers’ comeback was led by their defense. After scoring 41 first-half points, the Bears were limited to 33 points in the second half. Indiana made life hard on Baylor by forcing 16 turnovers. The Hoosiers had active hands and were in the right defensive positions to force several offensive fouls as well.

"I thought we were much more aggressive in the second half defensively, especially," DeVries said. "I thought they (Indiana's players) did a nice job of taking what they saw in the first half, changing it and flipping it in the second half."

Defense isn’t supposed to be the strong suit of this Indiana team, but DeVries feels the Hoosiers’ defense has come along well since the summer. That showed against the Bears in the second half, who didn’t look comfortable on offense.

One big trouble spot for the Hoosiers: Rebounding. Indiana was outrebounded 44-25 by Baylor, and a lack of overall size and athleticism could continue to be a problem for the Hoosiers.

Sunday's matinee provided plenty of positives and negatives for the Hoosiers. They looked vulnerable at times but displayed enough resilience to win.

"Every scenario that could happen today was going to be a good thing for us," DeVries said. "Because it's something that we could learn from. Whether you lose handily, win handily, (or) close game -- however it plays out, there was gonna be an opportunity for us to go back on the practice floor and get some things figured out."

Indiana’s regular season begins in 10 days when it hosts Alabama A&M on Nov. 5. That game is followed by a showdown against Marquette in Chicago on Nov. 9.