IU explodes in 2nd half for 4- start

It looked as if the IU men's basketball team left its sharp-shooting offense in Maui after going 0-5 in a two-minute span against North Texas Sunday at Assembly Hall. \nOr not.\nThe Hoosiers went into halftime with a small lead, but exploded in the second half en route to an 84-58 win. IU is 4-0 for the third time in the last five years.\n"We knew they were going to be a tough team," senior forward Jeff Newton said. "They put up a lot of shots, like in their last game, they shot 73 shots. We knew they were athletic, and we knew coming in they were a good team. We just started off slow."\nAfter a disappointing first half, IU started the second half with two quick three-point shots from senior guard Tom Coverdale and freshman guard Bracey Wright.\nHolding on to a 10-point lead, the Hoosiers continued to showcase their improved shooting by going on a 12-2 run to take a 20-point lead with just under nine minutes in the game.\nThe Hoosiers improvement was largely due to Wright's shooting, which was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. Wright finished with a team-high 21 points, making it the fourth game that he shot in double digits.\nWright's three-point shooting ability was magnified in the second half when he hit two threes from the exact same spot at the top of the arc during a Hoosier scoring run. Freshman guard Marshall Strickland was also successful there, knocking down a three from the same spot less than 30 seconds after Wright.\n"He's an exceptional player on this team," North Texas coach Johnny Jones said of Wright. "Bracey will be an impact player for (IU's) program."\nIU's resurgence was also a result of Newton, who finished with 15 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. With senior center George Leach out with a rotator cuff injury, Newton took over under the basket. Also contributing to the win was Coverdale, who finished with 17 points in 31 minutes.\nBut it was a whole different game in the first half.\nDespite early shooting efforts from Coverdale and Wright, the Mean Green jumped out to an early lead.\nAfter Coverdale put the first points on the board with an under-the-basket shot and free throw, North Texas capitalized on a follow-up jump shot and a steal to grab a two-point lead.\n"Just taking them lightly," Wright said of the Hoosiers slow start. "That's what we did. We didn't focus that hard in the beginning of the game, and they came out and hit a lot of open shots."\nThe Hoosiers followed with two consecutive scores from drives by Coverdale and Wright, but North Texas' Preseason All-American candidate, guard Chris Davis, responded with a three-point jump shot giving the Mean Green a one-point lead. \nNorth Texas continued to capitalize on IU's uncharacteristically weak offense by building a five-point lead. \nThe Hoosiers, plagued by poor shot selection and turnovers, didn't start hitting shots until there was 11:41 left in the first half.\nStarting with two free throws from Wright, the Hoosiers first score in four minutes, Newton followed it up with a two-point jump shot. Newton's score sent IU on a 8-0 run, giving the Hoosiers an 18-12 lead with just under ten minutes left in the first half. The two teams went into the locker room separated by six points with a 33-27 score.\nIU next takes the court Tuesday in Indianapolis against Maryland.\n"We needed a game today, just to get it out of us," IU coach Mike Davis said. "We'll leave late tomorrow night for the game, and I'm sure it's going to be a tight contest"