Indiana University Athletics
Still Alive and Kicking
3/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2003
Bloomington, Ind. - A clutch three-pointer from Bracey Wright with 13 seconds left in overtime gave Indiana a 91-88 win over Iowa at Assembly Hall on Saturday. Indiana extended its home winning streak in the month of March to 13 games as five separate Hoosiers scored in double figures.
The Hoosiers improved to 17-10 overall and 7-7 in the Big Ten with the win, while the Hawkeyes fell to 14-11 and 6-8 in conference as IU claimed its fourth win in its last five games against Iowa.
Indiana set the tone in the first half, racking up 46 points on 17-of-29 shooting (58.6 percent) from the field before halftime. The Hoosiers' 46 first-half points was the most for IU in Big Ten play this year and was the highest total since Indiana scored 50 in the first half against UMass in the season opener.
Things changed in a hurry during the second half, with Iowa outscoring Indiana, 47-32 in the second half. The Hawkeyes could have chosen to take the final shot of regulation, but Brody Boyd threw up a quick three-pointer that hit off the front rim and set the stage for Marshall Strickland to try and win the game with a three-pointer on the other side with time expiring. Strickland's shot wouldn't fall, and the game went into overtime.
It was in that overtime that Jeff Newton got the Hoosiers going by sinking a pair of jumpers in Indiana's first two possessions, then draining a free throw the next trip downcourt. Newton finished with 20 points and became Indiana's all time leader in blocked shots when he blocked a Jared Reiner shot in the first half. Newton now has 214 career blocks, one more than Alan Henderson.
The Hoosiers delivered their first big blow when A.J. Moye found Bracey Wright for a dunk that resulted in a three-point play that put IU up, 86-82. The Hawkeyes answered with a score of their own and eventually tied the game at 88-88 with under a minute left.
Wright then took a feed from Coverdale and sunk the game-winning three. The freshman from The Colony, Texas finished with a team-high 21 points, marking his eighth game scoring 20 or more points.
Wright's heroics will be what most people remember from this game, but Indiana's team free-throw shooting may have been the single biggest factor in the win, as the Hoosiers drained 25 of their 29 attempts from the line in the game (86.2 percent).
Indiana returns to action when it hosts Minnesota at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4 at Assembly Hall. Seniors Tom Coverdale, Kyle Hornsby and Jeff Newton will be honored, as they will be playing their final home game at Assembly Hall. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN and can be heard live throughout the Indiana Basketball Radio Network with Don Fischer, Todd Leary and Joe Smith calling all the action.
