Indiana University Athletics
Seniors Say Goodbye To Assembly Hall With Win
3/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2003
Bloomington, Ind. - It was the final night in Assembly Hall for three Hoosier seniors as Jeff Newton, Kyle Hornsby and Tom Coverdale said good-bye to McCracken Court with a 74-70 victory over Minnesota. The Hoosiers improve to 18-10, 8-7 in the Big Ten.When asked how he wants to be remembered when his IU career is over, Tom Coverdale confessed, "Somebody that gave everything they had for Indiana and this team. My ultimate goal is to be the first Indiana team to go back to the Final Four for the second straight year. As far as people looking back at me, just a tough player that played hard every game."
Newton led the way with 22 points and a career-high16 rebounds while Hornsby and Coverdale each added nine points in the win as Coverdale also dished out eight assists.
Jeff Newton was critical from the free throw line as he went eight-for-eight, and has now hit 50 of his last 59 from the charity stripe.
"(Tonight) was a game we had to have and we all understood it," said Newton. "We don't even want it to be a question whether we make the NCAA Tournament so we have to beat Penn State and win in the Big Ten Tournament."
Freshman Bracey Wright was the Hoosiers' second-leading scorer with 21 points and six rebounds. He has scored in double-digits 21 times this year and it is the ninth time this season he has reached the 20-point mark. He is tied with Steve Alford (1983-84) for most 20-point outings by a freshman. He hit a career-high six three-pointers, becoming IU's freshman single-season three-point leader with 60. He moves past Jay Edwards, who during the 1987-88 season recorded 59 treys.
The Hoosiers and Gophers traded ownership of the lead throughout the game. Indiana took the lead with 12:28 remaining in the game, 55-53, going up by as many as six before the final buzzer sounded.
"I was really proud of how hard our guys played tonight and how they kept their composure down the stretch," said head coach Mike Davis. "The last couple of games we could have folded at the end, but we didn't and we were able to get the wins."
Minnesota had double-digit scoring efforts from four players as Jerry Holman had 17 points to lead the Golden Gophers. Rick Rickert had 15 points and six rebounds while Michael Bauer had 13 points. Maurice Hargrow added 11 in the effort.
Indiana wraps up the regular season at Penn State on March 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN Plus Local. IU then looks to the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago at the United Center March 13-16.
