Hoosiers close weekend with win
By
Eamonn Brennan
and
Eamonn Brennan |
POSTED AT
12:00 AM ON Nov. 20, 2006
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For a coach who says he's no longer experimenting with his lineup, IU coach Kelvin Sampson is sure doing a lot of tinkering.
Instead of starting two of his senior captains in Sunday's 90-69 win against Chicago State University in Assembly Hall, Sampson started two freshmen -- guards Armon Bassett and Joey Shaw -- and the Hoosiers didn't miss a step.
Even freshman forward Xavier Keeling, who had played less than two minutes on the season before Sunday's game, saw time in the both halves and contributed six points to the IU cause.
"We changed the lineup looking for consistency," Sampson said. "I think we were consistent for a large part of the game. I was looking for more toughness."
Senior guard Rod Wilmont still played 28 minutes and led the Hoosiers in scoring in the first half with 10, but senior point guard Earl Calloway ceded much of his time to Bassett, who contributed an efficient 10 points, nine assists and two turnovers. Even when Calloway did play, Bassett played a more active point guard role.
Sampson could afford creative risk with his lineup Sunday. IU was never challenged by Chicago State, an independent team that will play only six of its 23 games this year at home. The Hoosiers opened up a 9-2 gap on the scattershot Cougars to start the game and never looked back, increasing their lead to as high as 29 in the second half.
Junior forward D.J. White found his shot Sunday, hitting 8-of-12 from the field and grabbing 11 rebounds, tying his career high.
The forward gave Hoosier fans at Assembly Hall a scare in the first half when he fell and landed awkwardly on his foot. He was taken back to the locker room but re-entered the game soon after having the foot checked out.
When asked if he was just as
worried as the home crowd about White's foot, Wilmont smiled.
"I was thinking the same thing," he said.
Sampson said that he wasn't concerned.
"I've seen D.J. do that a lot so far," he said. "I don't really worry about it."
Many of the Hoosiers' easiest baskets in the first half came in transition once Bassett broke through Chicago State's full- court press. Twice -- once in the first half and once in the second --
Bassett pushed the ball until he felt pressure and dumped it to White for an easy dunk.
"This is a simple game. You've got to make people better," Sampson said. "And when I see Armon in the middle of the floor with the ball, I think something good's about to happen."
The Hoosiers' route of Chicago State was their second win of the weekend. IU defeated Indiana State at Assembly Hall Friday night in its home opener. The Hoosiers dominated the first half in that game as well but gave back much of their lead in the second half and were forced to play a tight last few minutes, winning 73-66.
Junior Lance Stemler led IU with 18 points, going 6-for-11 from the field, including five 3-pointers. Two of those threes came in the closing moments of the second half -- one with 33 seconds left to extend the IU lead to five and seal the victory for the Hoosiers.
IU opened an initial 11-5 lead and ended the half 36-23. In the second half, IU expanded the lead to 53-33.
But Indiana State gradually climbed back in the game, penetrating in the half court and capitalizing on IU's 18 turnovers with fast-break points. With 5:10 left, the Sycamores closed the lead to 59-58.
Stemler hit the first of his late threes, though, and IU slowly re-opened the lead and held on for the victory.
"The first 25 minutes of the game, I don't know that we can play any better at this point in the season," Sampson said Friday. "But the last 13 minutes or so, I don't know that we can play any worse."
Thanks to IU's loss to Butler in the NIT Season Tip-Off Nov. 14, IU will miss out on the semifinals this week in New York. Instead, the Hoosiers will have nine days to prepare during the holiday weekend for the Nov. 28 game at Duke University.
Though Sampson said he wished the team had the extra NIT games for added experience, Stemler said he was glad the team had an extended period of time before its first big matchup of the season.
"Nine days to get ready for (Duke) is a good thing right now," Stemler said. "It's a lot of motivation knowing that in nine days, we're going to Duke to play. That'll give us a little bit of extra energy and motivation in practice. It's something to move towards."