IU Downs Ball State in Indy

December 28, 2004

INDIANAPOLIS - With the help of a suffocating defense and red-hot shooting in the opening half, the Indiana men's basketball team downed Ball State, 71-59, at Conseco Fieldhouse on Tuesday night. The win moves the Hoosiers to 3-6 and snaps their six-game losing streak, while the Cardinals fall to 5-4 on the season. Indiana is now 67-11 all-time in games played in Indianapolis.

Bracey Wright led all scorers with 29 points. The junior finished the night 10-of-19 from the field and 7-of-7 from the foul line in addition to corralling six rebounds. Freshman D.J. White was the only other IU player to reach double figures with 12 points, while also collecting four rebounds and three blocks.

The Hoosiers shot a season-best 47.6% (20-of-42) from the field and 84.8% from the charity stripe (28-of-33). On the defensive end, Indiana ended the night with eight blocked shots, matching a season high recorded against North Carolina on Dec. 1. IU also forced 24 turnovers, turning them into 21 points.

Starting three freshmen (A.J. Ratliff, White and Robert Vaden) for the first time this season, the Hoosiers came out hitting on all cylinders, building a 19-4 advantage by the 13:30 mark. Indiana hit five of its first seven shots and forced five turnovers, scoring eight points off the Ball State miscues during the stretch.

White led the onslaught with eight points and three rebounds, capping the run with a thunderous slam. He accounted for 10 points and four boards in the opening 20 minutes. Wright led all scorers with 14 points in the opening frame and added seven points during the run, highlighted by a tomahawk dunk slashing through the lane.

With IU holding a 25-6 advantage, the Cardinals used a 6-0 spurt to slice the lead to 25-12 before freshman James Hardy scored his first career points with a putback to halt the run.

After the teams split the next 12 points, sophomore Errek Suhr drained a three-pointer for his first career points to move the lead to 18 points, as IU reeled off seven straight points. Junior Marshall Strickland followed with a pair of free throws, and sophomore Roderick Wilmont added a lay-up to give the Hoosiers their largest lead of the half at 39-17 with 3:41 remaining.

However, Ball State went on to score 11 of the final 12 points in the half, including the last eight, to close the deficit to 40-28 at the break.

Indiana closed out the half shooting 48.3% (14-of-29), its highest percentage in a half this season. The Hoosiers held Ball State to 29.6% from the floor on 8-of-27 shooting and forced 11 turnovers, resulting in 14 points.

Ball State continued to surge in the second half, cutting the IU lead to 46-38 with 14:06 remaining. The Cardinals had the ball with a chance to move closer, but Vaden blocked a lay-up attempt by Peyton Stovall, leading to a Strickland fastbreak lay-in to push the lead back to 10.

With the Hoosiers holding a 52-40 advantage, the defense came up big once again. White blocked a shot by Stovall, and Wright nailed a 12-foot jumper to give Indiana a 54-40 advantage with 9:14 left.

A trey by Cardinal guard Skip Mills made it 60-50 and Ball State appeared poised to trim the lead into single digits, but Pat Ewing Jr. came out of nowhere to block a Tom Howland dunk attempt, thwarting the Cardinal comeback.

Using that momentum, Wright hit a running leaner and converted the free throw after being fouled, making it 65-52, putting the game away with 2:47 remaining.

The bench was a big factor, outscoring the Ball State reserves 13-2, led by Suhr. After hitting his first collegiate shot, the Bloomington, Ind., native went 5-of-6 from the foul line, finishing with eight points.

Ratliff added four points on four three throws along with a pair of blocks in his first collegiate start, and Vaden added five steals in addition to six points and three boards.

Indiana looks to make it back-to-back victories when it returns to action on Friday, Dec. 31, at 5:00 p.m. (EST), against Oral Roberts at Assembly Hall. The game will be televised by ESPN Plus and is the seventh of 16 IU games televised on the local package. The match-up can also be heard live on the IU Radio Network with Don Fischer (play-by-play), Todd Leary (analysis) and Joe Smith (pre game, halftime and post game).

Indiana University Athletics

December 28, 2004

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Players Mentioned

Pat Ewing Jr.

Pat Ewing Jr.

James Hardy

James Hardy

A.J. Ratliff

A.J. Ratliff

Marshall Strickland

Marshall Strickland

Marshall Strickland

Marshall Strickland

Errek Suhr

Errek Suhr

Errek Suhr

Errek Suhr

Robert Vaden

Robert Vaden

D.J. White

Roderick Wilmont

Roderick Wilmont

Roderick Wilmont

Roderick Wilmont

Roderick Wilmont

Bracey Wright

Bracey Wright

Bracey Wright

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