NEW YORK-At halftime of the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, the IU men's basketball team trails the No. 18 Connecticut Huskies 30-24.
Both teams went scoreless during the first two minutes and 35 seconds before senior forward Will Sheehey drove for a left-handed layup and took a foul but missed the free throw.
The teams went back and forth over the next several possessions, but after IU went ahead 8-6, the Hoosiers wouldn't hit a field goal for the next nearly eight minutes of game time, hitting just four free throws in that span.
Freshman forward Noah Vonleh got himself into quick foul trouble, picking up two in back-to-back possessions in the first two minutes and sat out a good chunk of the middle of the half, but the Hoosiers managed to weather the storm while both teams traded turnovers and missed buckets.
The Hoosiers committed 12 turnovers in the half - just one fewer than all of last night's game against Washington. UConn gave it up nine times after committing just three last night against Boston College and averaging just nine per game this season.
Sophomores Jeremy Hollowell and Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell tossed in back-to-back buckets after falling down four points out of the under four TV timeout to tie the game at 24 points.
From there, UConn's Shabazz Napier nailed two of his three 3-pointers in the final minutes, including one just ticks before the final buzzer, to give his Huskies their largest lead so far in the game
Vonleh and fellow freshman Troy Williams, who combined for 40 points last night, were each held scoreless in the first half. Ferrell led the Hoosiers with nine points but committed three of IU's turnovers.
