Early second half run pushes Zags past IU

  • 12/06/2008 4:26 pm in

For a half, it appeared that Indiana just might have a shot to do the unthinkable — knock off a top 5 team in the first game ever played at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Hoosiers came into Saturday a 23-point underdog to No. 5 Gonzaga and trailed by just five points at halftime. And that was after Tom Crean’s club committed 13 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

Unfortunately for Crean and IU, the second half started with much of the same as the Hoosiers committed six turnovers in the first five minutes and the Zags used a 9-2 run on their way to a 70-54 victory.

In all, Indiana committed 25 turnovers and it was the sixth time in eight games they’ve totaled more than 20.

Josh Heytvelt scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds for Gonzaga (6-0) and guards Jeremy Pargo and Matt Bouldin added 13 points each.

For the Hoosiers (4-4), it was much of the same when facing elite competition. IU managed just 30 percent shooting from the field and struggled to find their rhythm offensively against a physically superior team.

Devan Dumes led the way with 15 points, but shot just 4 of 15 from the field. Malik Story came off the bench to score 14 and Tom Pritchard chipped in 13.

Verdell Jones III missed his second consecutive game following a collision back on November 30 in the Cornell game. The freshman guard is listed as day-to-day.

Up next: The Hoosiers return to Assembly Hall to face TCU on Wednesday evening.

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