Hoosiers victorious in opener

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- George Leach didn't want to sit the bench. He didn't want to wear the white practice jersey that denotes the second team. \nAfter Sunday's eight-point, seven-rebound, four-block performance in IU's 65-61 season-opening victory at Charlotte, Leach decreased the chance either will happen again. \n"I called my mom (before the game), and she said 'You know you can play basketball, so calm down,'" said Leach, who graduated from Charlotte's Olympic High School. "I just did what I thought I could do. I figured while I was in there, I might as well try something."\n"Something" worked from the time the 6-foot-11 Leach set foot on the floor in the second half until game's end. Leach used his size, wing-span and athletic ability to stop the 49er inside attack, help foul out two Niner big men and propel IU to its first victory. \nHis effort impressed IU coach Mike Davis. \n"George Leach, what can I say?" Davis asked. "He played the best game of his career at Indiana. He blocked shots, he got key rebounds; I've never seen George play this way." \nNeither had Charlotte. \nAnd Leach's surprise spelled the end of the 49ers' end to upset No. 22 IU in front of a sold out crowd of 9,105 towel-waving Niner fans at Halton Arena.\nLeach quieted the Niner fans on several occasions after entering the game with just more than 16 minutes remaining and IU (1-0) trailing 42-30.\n"He's a really good shot blocker," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. "That's the first guy we've seen like that. He had a really big impact on the game."\nLeach's biggest contribution came with IU trailing 51-49 with just more than six minutes remaining. Leach took a pass from junior guard Tom Coverdale and exploded for a one-handed dunk that set off the Hoosier fans in attendance and tied the ball game.\n"That dunk was awesome," Davis said. "That was a big-time dunk."\nLeach, Coverdale and sophomore forward Jared Jeffries then finished off the Niners, scoring the Hoosiers' final 10 points to send IU to the victory. \nGetting there wasn't easy. \nCharlotte carried a six-point lead and momentum into halftime, fending off an IU run that closed the 49er lead to 24-23 with just less than five minutes remaining and stretching that gap to 31-25 at the break. \nThe Hoosiers fell behind by eight early on and battled for the remainder of the first half. IU's only lead came just seconds into the game when Jeff Newton's dunk put IU up 2-0. Newton kept IU in the game, scoring the team's first six points and eight of the initial 17. But the 49ers used a steady dose of outside shooting, offensive rebounding (24-16) and physical play to shove the Hoosiers into a hole and help erase the IU offense that drubbed its two exhibition foes. Only four Hoosiers scored in the first half.\nThe Niners appeared on their way to their fourth win over a ranked team in Halton Arena early in the second half when they scored on three consecutive trips. The Niners stretched the lead to 12, but IU used a seven-two run to shrink the Niner lead to six with just more than 12 minutes left. \nIU then had several cracks to draw within single digits but misfired from the field or turned the ball over on four of five possessions. The only score came from Leach, who hit two free throws and kicked off his game-changing antics. \nIU got back in the game without help from Fife, Newton and junior Kyle Hornsby, who remained on the bench for varying reasons throughout the second half. Fife rested with three fouls in favor of freshman Donald Perry while Hornsby's lack of defense relegated him to the bench. \nThe game mirrored last season's 76-72 Hoosier victory in Bloomington in which IU fell behind by 17 in the second half before erupting for the win. What the game didn't mirror was any of Leach's "casual" play, as Davis called it. \nThe result was something Davis and the Hoosiers could get used to. \n"He did a great job tonight," said IU assistant coach Ben McDonald, whose duties include working with the Hoosier post players. "I have to give him all the credit. We just try to drill into him that he has talent." \nSunday, it worked.