Gophers dig up victory

MINNEAPOLIS -- The game appeared to be well in hand. IU held a 13-point lead with less than three minutes to go, and Minnesota wasn't threatening.\nBut looks can be deceiving.\nMinnesota implemented a full-court press, and within those three minutes, the Golden Gophers tied the game and sent it to overtime, where they prevailed 78-74 Saturday in Williams Arena.\n"I sensed Indiana starting to fold when we put a little pressure on them," Minnesota's Kerwin Fleming said. "They started turning the ball over, and the crowd got on our back. After that, it was all over."\nMinnesota's streak started with a layup by Dusty Rychart with 2:54 remaining in regulation. With the lead cut to seven, the Hoosiers (11-8, 2-3 Big Ten) committed a turnover on three consecutive possessions and the Gophers (15-3, 3-2) scored each time. Freshman forward Jared Jeffries' pass sailed over sophomore guard Kyle Hornsby's head. Then, junior guard Dane Fife made a bad pass, and junior forward Kirk Haston repeated the mistake.\n"We sensed their fear, and that made us work even harder to create more turnovers," Fleming said.\nFife ended the 10-point run by making one of two free throws, giving IU a two-point lead. Gopher Shane Schilling tied it with 25 seconds remaining, setting up IU for the final play of the game. Sophomore guard Tom Coverdale dribbled and watched the clock run down. He made his move, and took an awkward shot from about 16 feet away and missed. Interim head coach Mike Davis ran onto the floor arguing that Coverdale was fouled.\n"I thought he got fouled, but you can't really call a foul in the last two seconds of a game," Davis said. "Let the game be decided on the shot instead of calling a foul. That was my fault for losing control.\nCoverdale probably didn't get fouled that hard anyway. It was a desperation shot."\nHaston cut the lead to one with a free throw with 1:39 remaining in overtime. On IU's next possession, Hornsby missed an inside shot, and Terrance Simmons grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 29 seconds remaining.\nIU implemented its own press and forced the Gophers into a 10-second violation for not crossing half court. Davis called timeout to set up a play that could give IU the lead. Hornsby received the ball at the top of the key. He had and saw a shot, but decided to drive the lane. His shot missed, and the rebound resulted in a jump ball with 3.7 seconds left. \nThe possession arrow pointed IU's way, and the referees initially gave the ball to IU. But after a conference with the sideline official, they correctly handed the ball -- and essentially the win -- to Minnesota.\nThe Hoosiers had one last chance after Fleming extended the lead to 76-74, but Fife's inbounds pass hit the scoreboard over the court. The scoreboard is out of play and the ball went to Minnesota. Rychart sealed the game by making two free throws with 3.2 seconds left.\n"We have to close out games," freshman guard A.J. Moye said. "Once you get somebody down, you have to finish them."\nExcept for the final minutes, Davis said his team played well. After Rychart opened the second half with a layup, the Hoosiers went on a 10-2 run to give them a 48-38 lead. \nHaston scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Hornsby scored 14; Coverdale and Fife each added 12.\nJeffries sat out the majority of the first half with two fouls. He finished with 10 points and five blocks.\n"Hopefully, we can learn from this experience and improve on how we finish games," Davis said. "I'll grow from this loss and so will the players"