Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Michigan State
Hoosiers Fall at Michigan State Despite Shooting Nearly 55 Percent
1/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2006
Box Score
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Playing without starting point guard Lewis Monroe, the No. 9/8 (AP/Coaches) Indiana men's basketball team saw its six-game winning streak come to a halt at the hands of No. 14/15 Michigan State, 87-73, on Jan. 11. Despite shooting over 50 percent, the Hoosiers lost for the first time in 31 contests when eclipsing that plateau. Indiana fell to 10-3 on the season and 2-1 in the Big Ten. Michigan State upped its record to 13-4 overall and 1-2 in conference action.
Despite shooting 54.7 percent from the field, the Hoosiers could not overcome the Spartans. It marked the first time in 31 contests that IU fell while shooting over 50 percent from the field. The last time IU lost a game and shot 50 percent from the field was Jan. 19, 2002 at Ohio State. In that contest, IU shot exactly 50 percent from the field. MSU also shot over 50 percent from the field in the contest, hitting on 58.8 percent of its shots, including a 64 percent clip in the second half.
Indiana was led in scoring by a pair of 20-point efforts from senior forward Marco Killingsworth and sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden. Killingsworth finished with 27 points on 13-of-22 from the field, while Vaden added 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Marshall Strickland added nine points, while junior guard Earl Calloway had eight points and a team-high five assists. Maurice Ager led all scores with 28 for the Spartans, while Paul Davis had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hoosiers opened the contest scoring six straight points on their first two trips down the court. After Killingsworth made a steal on MSU's Paul Davis in the post, Vaden hit a deep three-pointer from the left wing. The Spartans again turned the ball over down the court, and Vaden once again capitalized with a trifecta, this time from the right wing.
Shannon Brown broke the Hoosier streak with a driving layup as the shot clock was winding down, but the Hoosiers took a four-point advantage, 10-6, into the first media timeout. Killingsworth scored four straight points for the Hoosiers with a 12-foot jumper and an offensive put back.
The IU lead reached seven at 17-10 with 12:09 remaining in the first half following a trey from the top of the key by Strickland. The Spartans would score six straight points to draw within one at 17-16. Brown answered Strickland with a three of his own and Drew Neitzel converted on a three-point play after hitting a leaning jumper.
Following a Killingsworth layup, Ager drew the Spartans even for the first time in the game with 10:31 remaining. He hit a three from the left side with the shot clock running down to even it at 19. Killingsworth answered with a bucket in the paint, but MSU got a dunk from Marquise Gray and a transition bucket from Ager to take its first lead, 23-21, with 8:23 remaining.
The Spartans twice took a five points lead in the opening 20 minutes of play. Matt Trannon gave MSU the second such lead with a layup with just under six minutes remaining. The Hoosiers scored five straight points to draw even at 31. Killingsworth banked in a shot in the post before skipping a pass to junior guard Roderick Wilmont, who nailed a trey from the left side.
After Davis put MSU back on top with four straight points, Calloway, who was making his first career start, drew the Hoosiers back even with a pair of nice driving plays. He drove the lane, drawing a defender and dishing to wide open freshman Ben Allen for a layup. Next time down the floor, Calloway again drove the lane, this time for a layup to even it at 35 with 2:39 remaining. The two teams traded buckets until Ager hit an 18-foot jumper from the right side with just three seconds remaining to send the Spartans to the locker room with a 41-39 lead.
The Hoosiers evened the contest on their opening possession of the second half, going down low to Killingsworth. MSU then scored 12 of the game's next 16 points to takes a 53-45. The lead was the same (55-47) following a layup by Gray with 13:27 remaining, but Vaden hit his fourth trey of the contest from the top of the key to draw IU within five.
The lead bumped up to nine with 9:17 remaining on a three by Ager. With the shot clock running down, Brown drove the lane, drew the defense and kicked to Ager, who hit from the right corner. Strickland narrowed the gap back down to six, 66-60, with a trey of his own from the left wing, but it would be as close as the Hoosiers would get.
Michigan State would put the game away with a 10-0 to push its advantage to 16. Davis pushed the lead to double-digits at 71-60 with a three-point play. After an offensive rebound, Ager hit a trey to make it 74-60 with just over five minutes showing. Davis capped the run with a pair of free throws at the 3:34 mark. Seventeen seconds later, Strickland halted the run with a three-point play, drawing IU within 13. It was as close as the Hoosiers would get before falling by a final margin of 14, 87-73.
The Hoosiers will have nearly a week off before returning to the hardwood against No. 7/6 Illinois. Indiana will host the Illini on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. The game will be televised to a national audience on ESPN and can be heard on the IU Radio Network with Don Fischer (play-by-play), former IU guard Todd Leary (color) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame) on the call.
