How sweet it is

SACRAMENTO -- With just more than 46 seconds left in Saturday night's game in Arco Arena, junior Kyle Hornsby made a layup and drew a foul, giving the Hoosiers a seven-point lead on North Carolina-Wilmington. This was after IU had burned two timeouts trying to get the ball past half-court against the Seahawks' trapping press.\nAs Hornsby pumped his fist, IU coach Mike Davis slid down into his courtside chair, legs and arms extended, palms open to the sky and a big smile on his face, as if to say "Finally."\nFinally, the Hoosiers had been able to finish out a close game after going 1-5 in games decided by three points or less so far this season. Finally sophomore Jared Jeffries is back to All-American form. \nAnd finally, after they put away a feisty No. 13 UNC-Wilmington team 76-67, the No. 5 Hoosiers are going back to the Sweet Sixteen after an eight-year absence.\nWith the win, IU advances to play No. 1 Duke Thursday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., in one of the South Regional semifinals. The other game will pit No. 10 Kent State against Pittsburgh.\nJeffries led the Hoosiers (22-11) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Of those 22, 20 came in the second half. Hornsby and sophomore A.J. Moye each had 12, and junior Jeff Newton came off the bench with 11 points. Brett Blizzard had a game and season-high 29 points for the Seahawks (23-10). Anthony Terrell had 13 points and 13 rebounds.\nNothing has come easy for the Hoosiers this season, and that didn't change Saturday night in Sacramento. After building an early lead, IU saw UNC-Wilmington come back and close to within six at 31-25 at halftime. \nThe Hoosiers responded by opening the half strong, using a 14-3 run to grab a 49-32 lead at the 12:40 mark on a three pointer by junior Tom Coverdale. The Seahawks would hang tough, even as Blizzard would suffer a left ankle sprain midway through the second half. He came back a little more than a minute later and would spark an 11-4 run that got the IU lead down to 66-63 at the 2:45 mark. \n"At six points, I thought we were in great shape," Seahawks coach Jerry Wainwright said. "We were in a position to tie or win the game, and that's all you can ask for at this level."\nBy this time, senior Dane Fife had fouled out, unsuccessful in slowing down Blizzard.\n"He hurt his ankle, so I thought he would slow down. He got better, that's for sure," Fife said. "He's not necessarily the quickest guy, but he's so clever and crafty and he's got great confidence."\nJust last weekend, at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, the Hoosiers had let an Iowa team led by Luke Recker get off the ropes late in the second half and win. But that wouldn't happen in the NCAA Tournament. Hornsby said IU is sick of blowing games and poise down the stretch is the solution.\n"All week long the coaches have been talking about poise at the end of the game and executing just like it was the beginning of the game, no matter what the score," Hornsby said. "That's what kept going through my mind, and I'm sure that's what was going through the guys' minds -- just to execute."\nThat involved going through Jeffries, who had 11 points in the last 6:09 of the game. Jeffries said he felt better than he has for as long as he can remember. Even though he had a bad first half, Jeffries remained confident.\n"In the first half my teammates kept telling me, 'Stay in it. Take over the game,'" Jeffries said. "My teammates and coaches have so much confidence in me it kind of carries me at times even when my confidence is a little shaken.\n"In the second half, I just decided that I wasn't going to go out with a bad game. I just tried to take control and everything worked out well."\nWith a three-point lead, the Hoosiers went straight to Jeffries, who spun in the lane for two. Blizzard missed a 16-footer under harassment from Moye before Hornsby hit one of two free throws to give IU a 69-63 lead with 1:51 to play.\nAgain, Blizzard missed a jumper while being bothered by Moye. Hornsby then hit another free throw before Terrell got a layup to make it 70-65 with 57.4 seconds left. But eventually, IU would break the Seahawks' press, and the Hornsby layup sealed the win.\nFife gave a lot of credit to Moye for his defense. Moye said he was just doing what he was told.\n"(Assistant Coach John) Treloar told me to shut him down and not give him any looks. And when he does catch it, use my athleticism," Moye said. "That's what I did. He could hardly see the basket."\nA date with Duke looms Thursday, but Davis couldn't help but be proud of his team. Jeffries said the Hoosiers are finally doing some things they haven't done in a while, and it couldn't come at a better time.\n"I think we've accomplished something now, but I also feel like we can also accomplish a whole lot more," Jeffries said. "This team is coming together at the right time"