Hoosiers keep bragging rights

Mike Davis wasn't going to let it happen again. \nSaturday in Minnesota, the Hoosiers blew a 13-point lead with fewer than three minutes remaining. \nTuesday night against Purdue, IU didn't fall apart. The result was a 66-55 victory for the Hoosiers.\nAfter junior guard Dane Fife missed a pair of free throws, Davis, the interim head coach, called a time out with the Hoosiers up 52-45. The Boilermakers (12-6, 4-3 Big Ten) were surging and 3:20 remained. He didn't have to remind the players about the Minnesota game. They watched the game film as soon as they returned from the airport.\n"Nobody really had to say anything like 'remember Minnesota,'" junior forward Kirk Haston said. "That kind of sticks in your head. You don't have to talk about it. Every individual guy kept thinking to themselves, when they made their run, this is where we find out if this is going to be our falling point in every game."\nHaston led the Hoosiers with 24 points and 15 rebounds, while freshman forward Jared Jeffries scored 14 and grabbed six boards.\nSophomore guard Tom Coverdale scored only three points, but as point guard, he was instrumental in IU's ability to finish the game strong.\n"We had a situation where we could have folded but we stayed strong," Davis said. "(Coverdale) understands that the ball needs to be in his hands to calm everyone down."\nIU (12-8, 3-3 Big Ten) exploded out of the gate at the beginning of the second half.\nAfter surrendering a jump shot to junior guard Joe Marshall, IU went on an 8-0 run, extending its lead to 38-25. Haston capped the run with a short jumper, and fans at Assembly Hall rose to their feet as Coverdale triumphantly raised his hands in the air.\nThe Boilermakers responded by taking a time out and going on a 10-0 streak of their own. Purdue cut the lead to three before Davis called time out, and put Haston back on the floor.\nSoon, Haston was screaming for the ball.\n"Right here!" he shouted to freshman guard A.J. Moye, who couldn't get it to Haston because of Purdue's weak-side help.\nHaston had reason to call for the ball. He had just scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds in less than four minutes to propel IU to a 48-37 lead with 8:50 remaining. He scored eight points in the first half, more than any other player on the floor, to add to six rebounds and a steal.\n"Kirk stepped up and made some big shots for us tonight," Davis said. "I'm proud of him defensively right now because he's giving the effort."\nAfter the game, Fife said he was happy just to get a win in the conference, and whether it was against Purdue or Northwestern didn't matter much.\n"It's a Big Ten win and I think we should be happy with any win in the Big Ten, be it home or away," Fife said. "I'm from Michigan, so I never really paid much attention to the IU-Purdue rivalry"