An up and down week for the men's basketball team ended on an upswing late Saturday night as the Hoosiers knocked off Texas 77-71 to finish third in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska. Marquette, which upset IU 50-49 Friday, won the four-day tournament with a 72-63 victory against Gonzaga.
IU 77, Texas 71\nIU held Texas standout Chris Owens scoreless in the first half, grabbing a 43-36 lead in a game coach Mike Davis called the "best" IU (3-1) has played all season. Texas drubbed the Hoosiers in the Preseason NIT in New York last season, but No. 20 IU jumped a 13-point lead early then fought from behind in the second half before winning. \nSenior guard Dane Fife and sophomore forward Jared Jeffries each drained three-pointers in the closing minutes to stretch IU's lead and preserve the victory. \nDavis fiddled with the starting lineup as sophomores George Leach, A.J. Moye and freshman Donald Perry replaced juniors Jeff Newton, Kyle Hornsby and Tom Coverdale in the starting lineup. The mix-up paid dividends. \n"We were able to push the ball up the floor much better tonight. Our lineup gave us some speed and gave us some strong play from the bench," Davis said in a press release.\nJeffries led the Hoosiers with 22 points and eight rebounds and was one of three players who scored in double figures. Fife battled foul trouble to score 17 points in 17 minutes, and Coverdale finished with 11. \n"I felt like I really had my stroke tonight," Jeffries said. "And Dane really stepped and hit some big shots. He is a great shooter and he proved that on this trip."\nThe game didn't finish entirely positive for IU, which lost Newton, a junior forward, with a fractured cheek bone. Newton left the game, was transported to a local hospital and released. He is expected to miss two to three weeks of action.
Marquette 50, IU 49\nIn a game riddled with turnovers and stingy defense, IU botched its last possession and a chance to advance to the championship game. \nWith eight seconds remaining, IU inbounded the ball to Coverdale, who drove toward the wing and fired a pass to Hornsby, who was cutting toward the bucket. The pass sailed through Hornsby's grasp, and the Golden Eagles (5-0) whittled away the final two seconds to get the win. \n"Marquette outhustled us tonight. I want to see my team working as hard as that team did," Davis said.\nThe Hoosiers owned a 45-39 lead with 6:39 remaining, but Marquette closed out the game with an 11-4 run to improve to 4-0 on the season.\nNewton led IU with 11 points and was the only player in double figures. Jeffries, Coverdale and senior forward Jarrad Odle each scored eight. \nIU committed 22 turnovers and hit just four of 20 three-point attempts.
IU 101, Alaska-Anchorage 66\nIU drained a school-record 16 three-pointers and whacked the Seawolves, but led by only eight in the second half and ignited an eruption from Davis, who said he was "embarrassed" by the Hoosiers' effort and focus. \nDavis referred to Newton as a "junior high" player and said he felt sorry for IU fans who stayed awake into Thursday morning Bloomington time to watch the game. \nIU stretched its 44-34 halftime lead to 22 in the second half behind Fife's sixth three-pointer, then used a 9-0 run to extinguish UAA. The Hoosiers outscored the Seawolves 57-32 in the second half.\nFife's five first-half threes allowed IU to fend off the Seawolves. Fife led IU with 20 points. \n"It is a lot easier shooting without a guy within 20 feet of you," Fife said. "I thought Newton and (Jeffries) set good screens for me, so a lot of credit goes out to them and to (assistant) coach (Jim) Thomas. He has really helped me this year."\nJeffries recorded his second double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Hornsby scored 14 and Newton added 10.
