Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Defeat UMass, 84-71
11/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2002
Lahaina, Hawaii - The 21st-ranked Indiana men's basketball team tipped off its regular season with an 84-71 win over UMass in the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center Monday. All five starters finished the game in double figures and IU (1-0) won its season opener for the fifth-straight year. With the victory, the Hoosiers move on to semifinal action where they will face No. 20 Gonzaga. Tuesday's game is set for 9:30 p.m. (ET) and will be televised by ESPN. Indiana sharp-shooter Tom Coverdale led all scorers with 20 points. The senior nailed four of his 10 three-point attempts, dished out six assists and grabbed a pair of steals. Coverdale became the 12th player in IU history to eclipse the 350-assist mark for his career
Junior center George Leach was big for the Hoosiers as well, posting career-highs with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Leach was excellent from the field, hitting 9-of-13 attempts. He also blocked three shots in a game for the 12th time in his career. The Hoosiers are 9-3 in those games.
"If we don't have George Leach, it's a different ball game," head coach Mike Davis said. "He can really rebound when he wants to."
Indiana got 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists from senior Jeff Newton. Freshman Bracey Wright tallied 14 points, five boards and blocked three shots in his debut as a Hoosier.
"Bracey played nervous and Marshall (Strickland) was nervous," Davis said. "That's why I went with Donald (Perry) early. Bracey and Marshall are good players and we're going to need them, especially in Big Ten play."
Senior Kyle Hornsby rounded out Indiana's double-digit effort with 10 points. He drained two three-pointers while collecting five rebounds and four assists. Junior A.J. Moye chipped in six points and grabbed seven rebounds for IU.
"Our front line is really thin and we were tested today. This game made me nervous," Davis said. "I had watched a lot of tape on UMass and one thing about them, they never quit. (Guard) Anthony Anderson was the Atlantic-10 Freshman of the Year last year and I thought we did a good job on him."
Anderson was held to just 1-of-9 shooting and a total of two points in the game. Raheim Lamb paced the Minutemen with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Marcus Cox netted 14 points and Micah Lamb impressed as well, going 6-of-12 from the field to finish with 13.
"Micah Brand is a tough match-up. He's the type of guy I like in my system, tall, athletic and a shooter. I think Leach played well defensively," Davis said.
Indiana was 12-of-26 (.462) from beyond the three-point arc, including hitting 9-of-15 in the first half. Today's game marked the12th time an IU team has made 12 three-pointers in a game under Davis.
