San Diego Stunned

SALT LAKE CITY -- Twice in the second half a loose ball ended up in the hands of sophomore Robert Vaden.\nTwice Vaden took that ball and drained an open look from three.\nAnd only twice in that half did the Hoosiers hold a lead over No. 11 seed San Diego State. Fortunately for IU, the second of those two similar occurrences came with only 3.3 seconds left. \nThe No. 6 seeded Hoosiers were able to steal victory away from the Aztecs Thursday night, 87-83, thanks in large part to two freakishly similar plays that resulted in IU's only two 3-pointers, and only two leads of the second half. \nWith almost eight minutes remaining, the Hoosiers had just ripped off seven straight points to climb within two of San Diego State. After a pair of free throws by junior Rod Wilmont, Vaden challenged the Aztec inbound and Mohamed Abukar threw an arrant pass to IU junior Earl Calloway. Calloway quickly swung a pass to Vaden, who netted a three to give the Hoosiers their first lead of the half.\nBut the Aztecs quickly fought back and climbed ahead until the game's final seconds. That's where, again, an arrant pass popped into the air only to land back into the hands of Vaden. The sophomore coolly stopped, paused for half a second, and then drained the shot that saved the Hoosiers' season.\n"I almost peed my pants there," junior guard Errek Suhr said. "It was great. This is what it's all about -- it was awesome."\nVaden went from a question mark before the game, to an exclamation point after it. Playing on a bum ankle, Vaden had to wear two different sized shoes just to fit his massive brace. The Indianapolis native then proceeded to play a team-high 36 minutes and sink five 3-pointers to pace the Hoosiers with 18 points. \n"I felt like I was going to play a couple days ago," Vaden said. "This is one of the biggest games of my life, one of the biggest times of my life, and I wanted to be on the court." \nThough Vaden may have been the game's hero, Calloway certainly could qualify as the trusty sidekick. Calloway also scored 18, only missed one shot, assisted three buckets and tallied an IU season-high six steals. \nAnd whenever IU needed a basket most, Calloway answered. In the first half he capped a 9-2 run with an up-and-under scoop shot, followed by a crossover and finish that left his defender staggering on his heels. And in the second half, around the five-minute mark, Calloway scored on a drive, assisted the next bucket, scored again and finished the stretch with another drive and score -- this time getting fouled and sinking the free throw to tie the game at 76.\n"Earl Calloway was fantastic," IU coach Mike Davis said. "He looked faster than he's ever looked."\nAll but one of Calloway's eight field goals came from within the paint, so it served fitting that the Hoosiers netted a total of 51 (Calloway's jersey number) points from the post. The other key component to that statistic was senior Marco Killingsworth who shot just 3-7 for six points in the first half, but then went 5-6 for 12 points in the second. IU's 51 points in the paint nearly doubled the Aztec's 28, while the Hoosiers' 23 points off turnovers more than doubled San Diego State's 10.\n"It's fun coaching this team now, it really is," Davis said. "I'm proud of these guys because of their attitude."\nNow among the field of 32, the Hoosiers next face No. 3 seed Gonzaga who similarly had to fight off No. 14 Xavier to win, 79-75. The Bulldogs bring with them the nation's leading scorer in junior Adam Morrison -- a player defensive coach Donnie Marsh will surely see plenty of before Saturday.\n"I think I'm going to be seeing that guy in my sleep tonight," he said.