Bench play propels Hoosiers past Sooners

ATLANTA -- As the Hoosiers continue to move through the NCAA tournament, two things stay the same. The doubters tell them why they can't win and IU proves them wrong.\nSaturday night it was supposed to be Oklahoma's toughness that would wear down the Hoosiers. It was supposed to be the Sooners' pressure defense that would handcuff the outside shooters of IU. And if the Hoosiers wanted to win Saturday night, it was supposed to be all on sophomore Jared Jeffries.\nFinally, with junior Tom Coverdale at less than full strength with a left ankle injury, the Hoosiers were to have no chance with true freshman Donald Perry at the point.\nIU proved all four prognostications wrong in its 73-64 win against the Sooners in the first national semifinal Saturday night at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta before 53,378.\nThe Hoosiers advance to the national title game tonight, when they will face Maryland in the final. The Terrapins beat Kansas Saturday night, 97-88. IU is just the second fifth-seed of all-time to advance to the championship game. The last No. 5 was Florida, who lost to Michigan State, 89-76, in 2000.\nAfter the game, IU coach Mike Davis marveled at his players' fortitude to overcome their doubters and a 34-30 halftime deficit Saturday night.\n"Like I said before, it's the players," Davis said. "They're playing unbelievable. They could easily have given up and we could have lost by 10. But they kept fighting, kept fighting, kept fighting."\nBy the end of the game Saturday, the Sooners looked worn out by a balanced IU attack that hurt them inside in the first half and outside in the second. The Hoosiers shot more than 52 percent from the field against a Sooner team that had been holding opponents to just 39 percent shooting in the tournament.\nAnd in his return to his hometown of Atlanta, junior Jeff Newton proved the Hoosiers (25-11) are not a one-man team by scoring a career-high 19 points to lead IU. Newton also had four blocks. Senior Jarrad Odle had 11 points, Jeffries had eight. Perry added 10 points and four rebounds in 11 minutes, most coming down the stretch as the Hoosiers pulled ahead.\nFor the game, IU's bench outscored its starters 41-32.\nAaron McGhee had a game-high 22 points for the Sooners (31-5) before fouling out with 4:40 to play. \n"That was the plan, to try to go at those guys and be aggressive and try to get them in early foul trouble," Newton said.\nEbi Ere had 15, but Hollis Price was held to just six points on one-of-eleven shooting. Price was harassed most of the night by senior Dane Fife.\nWith Jeffries picking up his second foul not even nine minutes into the game, Newton played a vital role in keeping the Hoosiers close in the first half. A physical game in the first half, Newton started out slow and Davis quickly pulled him after a couple of turnovers. \nWhen Newton told Davis he was ready to play, Davis put him back in the game and Newton didn't disappoint.\n"That's kind of my plan, to just go out every game and play aggressive," Newton said. "I just try to take what the team is giving me. Tonight I could do a little bit of scoring."\nDown 34-30 at the half, Davis told his players to focus and limit the Sooners' second chance opportunities. IU would in the second half while the Hoosiers' bench outscored the Sooners' 41-19 in the game.\nIU grabbed the lead for good on a Perry three-pointer with just under 10 minutes left, making the score 51-48. Oklahoma tied the game at 60 with 3:25 left on a bucket by Daryan Selvy. \nThe Hoosiers responded with a 6-0 run, which included a coast-to-coast scamper by Perry that he finished with a left-handed layup. The Sooners would get no closer than five the rest of the way as IU hit seven of its ten free throws.\n"There was no need for me to go back in the game because Donald was playing so well," Coverdale said as he rested his left ankle in a tub of ice. "If (Perry) didn't step up in the last couple of minutes of the game, we probably wouldn't have won."\nBefore the game, the Sooners said their defense would stop everything the Hoosiers did. But in the end, Oklahoma couldn't stop anything. IU won on the inside in the first half and on the outside in the second half, hitting all six of its three-pointers after the break.\nMeanwhile, Fife held Oklahoma star Price to a season-low six points on one-of-eleven shooting from the floor. \n"Fife did a great job," Price said. "He was so physical."\nAs the game wore on, the Hoosiers noticed the Sooners were crumbling. Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said the Hoosiers were relentless.\n"That's a tribute to Indiana's heart," Sampson said. "Their kids are tough."\nWith the clock winding down and the Hoosiers hitting their free throws, Davis had his head buried in his hands. Then Fife came along to deliver a message. IU had taken the criticism and proven the critics wrong -- again.\n"I just said 'Coach, get your head up, man, we're going to the national championship,'" Fife said after the game. "He looked up and smiled"