Indiana University Athletics
IU Defeats Western Illinois, 64-60
11/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
November 27, 2004
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Junior D. J. White scored nine of his game-high 15 points in the final 4:20 of the second half to lead Indiana (2-0) to a 64-60 win over Western Illinois (0-3) on Saturday night in Assembly Hall. White was one of four Hoosiers in double figures as sophomore Patrick Ewing, Jr. and freshman Robert Vaden notched 12 apiece and junior Marshall Strickland chipped in with 10.The Hoosier led 47-40 with 10:11 remaining in the second half, before the Leathernecks went on a 12-0 run to grab the lead at 52-47 with 6:08 to play in the game. Vaden stopped the run with a triple at 5:48 to cut the Western Illinois margin to two.
Vaden and White took the rest of the game over, as the duo scored 15 of the Hoosiers' last 16 points over the final 5:48. A lay-up by White, trimmed Western Illinois's lead to 56-54 at 3:32, and a pair of free throws evened the game at 56-56 with 3:13 to play.
"That's the way I envisioned them (Vaden and White) playing, and they haven't played that way until late tonight," Head Coach Mike Davis said. "You go back to the first exhibition games, D.J. scored a couple points, but I think he's been nervous. But I thought he grew up. They played well. They rebounded and made free throws."
Vaden made a pair of free throws to give the Hoosiers a 58-56 lead, but the Leathernecks countered on a lay up by senior Will Lewis. The game remained tied at 58, until White converted a conventional three-point play to give IU a 61-58 advantage. A free throw by Vaden and a pair by Strickland sealed the Hoosiers' win.
Vaden corralled eight rebounds and Strickland tied his career-high with seven in the winning effort.
Senior Eulis Baez led Western Illinois with 12 points, while freshman David Jackson added 10. Baez also had a game-high 12 rebounds.
Indiana opened the game with a 9-3 run, capped by a three-pointer from Strickland. The Leathernecks countered with a pair of triples from Jackson, sandwiched between a basket from White, to cut the Hoosiers advantage to 11-9.
After the teams traded buckets, the Hoosiers pushed their lead to 19-13 on a free throw from Strickland, a basket from Vaden and a trey by sophomore Roderick Wilmont.
Indiana used an 8-2 run to widen its advantage to 27-17 with 6:34 to play in the first half.
During the run, IU got a tip-in basket and a pair of free throws from Ewing and a three-point play from junior Bracey Wright.
The Leathernecks battled back and cut the Hoosiers lead to four points, 32-28, with 2:05 to play in the first frame, after a three pointer by sophomore Troy Okenson and a fast break jumper by Lewis. After a two-handed dunk by Ewing gave IU a 34-28 lead with 1:29 to play, Western Illinois cut the margin to four again with a pair of free throws from freshman NaVonta Kentle for the halftime margin of 34-30.
White opened the scoring for the Hoosiers at 19:29 of the second half, but three free throws by junior Eliz Cepeda cut IU's lead down to just three points at 36-33. The teams swapped buckets to make the game 38-35 in favor of the Hoosiers.
After a free throw by Baez cut the Hoosiers lead to just two, 38-36 with 14:25 remaining, Vaden hit a trey from the corner to widen the Hoosiers lead to 41-36. A pair of free throws by Baez trimmed the lead back to three, but junior Sean Kline scored down on the low block and added a pair of free throws to give the Hoosiers a 45-38 lead at 11:54.
The Hoosiers will next be in action on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 9 p.m., as they host the University of North Carolina. The match up is part of ESPN's Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Game Notes: Indiana is 9-0 all-time versus opponents from the Mid Continent Conference... this was the first meeting between Indiana and Western Illinois... Patrick Ewing, Jr. and D.J. White each had a pair of blocks in the game... Ewing tied his career-high with 12 points... Marshall Strickland had three steals in the game, one shy of his career-high... James Hardy saw action in his first regular season game.
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/ Men's BasketballWednesday, August 12
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Tuesday, August 11