Hoosiers sweep Indiana Classic

Kyle Hornsby's teammates consider him the best shooter on IU's basketball team. In two games of the Indiana Classic, Hornsby proved that he truly is one of IU's best bombers.\nThe sophomore guard made seven-of-10 three-pointers in the two-game Indiana Classic, en route to MVP honors. He scored 16 points in IU's 65-50 win over Ball State in the championship game Saturday evening and 12 against Western Michigan in IU's 87-59 victory Friday.\n"Kyle is playing well," said IU coach Mike Davis. "He's a shooter. In high school, he shot 63 percent from the 3-point line. So hopefully, he'll stay aggressive offensively and if he can do that, it will really help us."\nHornsby said he was surprised that he was given the MVP award for his efforts, which included four three-pointers against the Cardinals.\n"At the end of the game, I was thinking it would be nice to be on the all-tournament team," Hornsby said. "But to be the MVP, that's real nice."\nJunior forward Kirk Haston came off the bench to score 14 points and grab eight rebounds. He was named to the all-tournament team and scored 25 points in the two games.\nAs Haston watched the first seven minutes of the game from the bench, he saw Ball State build an eight-point lead. But after he entered the game, Ball State struggled to score, and the Hoosiers started making their shots.\n"Kirk can score. (He) is an offensive sparkplug for us," Davis said. "We came out sluggish tonight and played down, not like I wanted."\nWith Haston in the game, IU used a 22-4 run to build a 10-point lead en route to a 34-24 halftime lead. Haston was the team's starting center for IU's first five games, but he's come off the bench in the last three games after sitting out one game with a toe injury.\n"I don't think anyone enjoys coming off the bench," Haston said. "But I'm going to do what's best for the team. If we're playing well and this is what's working for us, it's hard for me to say we should change it."\nLed by Hornsby, the Hoosiers made eight-of-17 three-point attempts against Ball State, and 20-of-38 in the tournament.\n"I told Kyle, 'just keep giving me assists,'" Haston said. "Because he can knock it down from anywhere. He's a real good shooter, but I'm two-for-two on the season, so I got him beat in percentage."\nHaston scored seven points during the first half run, which lasted seven minutes, en route to 10 first half points. Sophomore forward Jeffrey Newton extended IU's lead to 12 points, the largest lead of the half, with a layup with 1:56 remaining.\nSophomore guard Tom Coverdale dished out seven assists in the half, and finished the night with 10 assists and seven points. Coverdale was also named to the all-tournament team by scoring 13 points and dishing out 16 assists in the two games.\nIU went on a 17-4 run to open the second half and give the Hoosiers a 23-point lead. Freshman forward Jared Jeffries scored seven during the run and finished with 11 points.\nLonnie Jones led the Cardinals with 14 points and Josh Murray grabbed 14 rebounds. Ball State's leading scorer, Theron Smith, scored 40 points against Texas Tech but was limited to 12 by the Hoosiers. IU forced 18 turnovers, while giving it up only eight times.\n"This team definitely feeds off defense more than any other team," Haston said. "We're not really into it to try to outscore anybody. We really want to keep a team around 60 points."\nAgainst Western Michigan, freshman guard Andre Owens exploded for a career-high 22 points in just 22 minutes. He scored 19 of his points in a seven-minute stretch in the first half in which the Hoosiers went on a 24-6 run to take a 38-12 lead with 5:26 to play in the first half.\nThe win over Ball State extended IU's all-time to 53-1 in the Indiana Classic and gave the Hoosiers their 25th championship in 26 years. Indiana State defeated IU 63-60 in last season's championship game.\n"We got our trophy," junior guard Dane Fife said. "It feels good to have our title back"