Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Minnesota
No. 13/11 Indiana Falls at Minnesota
1/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2006
Box Score
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 13/11 Indiana men's basketball team fell for the second straight time on the road in the Big Ten as it dropped a 61-42 affair to the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Jan. 29. Indiana could not overcome a Gopher first-half run as it dipped to 12-5 on the year and 4-3 in conference action. Minnesota improved to 19-8 overall and 1-6 in Big Ten action.
Fifth-year senior forward Marco Killingsworth led the Hoosiers with 15 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden finished with 11 points on a trio of three-point field goals. Senior guard Marshall Strickland returned to the IU lineup after he missed the Iowa game and led the team with five assists to go along with six rebounds. It marked the 18th time in Strickland's four-year Hoosier career that he recorded five-or-more assists in a contest.
Indiana shot a season-low 32.1 percent (17-of-53) from the field, which included a 5-of-23 performance from three-point range. Indiana entered the contest as the national leader in three-point field goal percentage and the Big Ten leader in three-pointers per contest at more than nine per game. Minnesota became only the fourth team this season to shoot over 50 percent against IU as it hit at a 51-percent clip (26-of-51).
The Hoosiers opened an early 7-5 lead in part from a Vaden pull up three-pointer on the left side of the key. The trifecta came nearly three minutes into the opening half on the fast break. The Gophers would respond with a 12-2 run that opened an eight-point lead at 17-9 with 11:29 remaining. J'son Stamper scored six on the opening run that Spencer Tollackson capped with a dunk off the feed from Vincent Grier. Junior guard Roderick Wilmont briefly halted the Gopher run with a steal and layup.
Minnesota scored the game's next 13 points to push the advantage to 19. The Gophers held IU scoreless for nearly seven minutes during the spurt. The extended run for the Gophers during the first half was 25-4 and erased a two-point Hoosier lead. Minnesota hit 13-of-17 to open the contest to give it a large cushion.
The Hoosiers shot just 31.8 percent (7-of-22) in the first half, including just 2-of-13 from long range. In contrast, Minnesota finished the half at a sizzling 61.5 percent (16-of-26).
Indiana held the Gophers scoreless for the opening four minutes of the second half, but could only get as close as 15. A Vaden trey off an assist from Strickland cut the deficit to 34-19 just 2:30 into the second half. The Minnesota lead ballooned to as much as 24 points with 10:31 remaining after a Stamper jumper.
The Hoosiers drew to within 19 after three-point field goals from junior guard Errek Suhr and Vaden. Killingsworth scored back-to-back buckets with 2:40, including the final one off a steal to get IU to its closet at 18 points over the final 15 minutes of the game.
The Hoosiers return to the friendly confines of Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall on Feb. 1. IU will host the Northwestern Wildcats in a conference tilt at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN Plus and can also be heard on the IU Radio Network with Don Fischer (play-by-play), former IU guard Todd Leary (color) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime, postgame).
