Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Loses At Minnesota
1/26/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Coming off their second-worst loss in the last six years, the Golden Gophers (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 19 AP) played perhaps their best game of the season in a crucial 90-83 overtime victory over Indiana (No. 15 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) on Tuesday night.
They missed just one free throw, committed only two turnovers after halftime and had three players tie or set career or season highs. Most notable among them was Quincy Lewis, who scored the last six of his 36 points at the foul line to give the Gophers a victory they almost had to have after last Saturday's debacle at Ohio State.
Wary of his team's brutal performance against Ohio State and a schedule that sends the Gophers (13-4, 4-3 Big Ten) on the road for six of their last nine conference games, coach Clem Haskins emphasized the importance of Tuesday night's game.
His players responded, with Lewis shouldering the bulk of the scoring load as he matched the career scoring high he set earlier this season against Seton Hall.
Lewis, the Big Ten's leading scorer, had 26 points after halftime, including eight in the overtime. Trailing 83-82, he hit two free throws with 1:35 remaining to put the Gophers ahead for good. After Joel Przybilla tipped in a miss by Lewis with 55 seconds remaining, Lewis made four more free throws in the final 30 seconds to clinch it.
The game was equally important for Indiana (16-7, 3-5) in the rugged Big Ten race. The Hoosiers led 40-36 at halftime, committed just three more turnovers the rest of the game and shot 61.5 percent in the second half.
And they still couldn't avoid losing for the fourth time in six games, something coach Bob Knight blamed on his team's defense.
"Our defense in the Big Ten, with just a couple of exceptions, has not been very good," Knight said. "That's the part of our game that has made it difficult for us to win."
Luke Recker, who missed all six of his shots in last weekend's home loss to Big Ten-leader Michigan State, was 3-for-11 from the field and scored seven points. He also missed two important free throws that would have tied the game 76-all with 2:47 left in regulation.
A.J. Guyton led Indiana with 27 points and freshman Kirk Haston scored a career-best 24 points and 13 rebounds.
"We're going to play him every minute he can play from now on," Knight said of Haston, who made his second conference start.
Despite Lewis' scoring show, the Gophers survived because he got plenty of help.
Along with Tarver's performance on the boards, reserve Mitch Ohnstad scored a season-high 14 points. Kevin Clark added 17 points, and Minnesota is 18-2 during Clark's career when he scores at least 15.
Ohnstad's production -- he was 4-for-6 from 3-point range -- gave the Gophers the third scorer they have been looking for all season to complement Lewis and Clark.
