Hoosiers topple No. 1 Spartans

Thousands of fans -- many of them IU students -- stood in the bleachers screaming and waiting for the final 8.3 seconds of Sunday's game. \nGoing into the final time out, IU was down by two, 58-56. Security guards and ushers held yellow ropes across the baseline to prevent fans from storming the court.\nThe clock started again. \nSophomore guard Kyle Hornsby stood near the top of the key with the ball. Junior forward Kirk Haston came off a screen on the left wing. He caught Hornsby's pass with two seconds left. He fired it up from behind the three-point line. \nHaston's shot was good, lifting the Hoosiers to a dramatic 59-58 victory against No. 1-ranked Michigan State. A concrete wall couldn't have kept the Hoosier faithful off the court.\n"I just let go of the rope and got out of the way," security guard Jerry Stoute said. "I didn't want to get rope burn."\nJunior guard Dane Fife was the first player to race onto the court with the fans.\n"It was like a frat party out there," Fife said. "I was laying on the ground and thought, 'I better get up.' I stayed on our end and had a good time with the students. Hornsby got elbowed in the pile when they tackled Kirk. I stayed away from that."\nThe whole scene was eerily similar to the last time the Spartans played in Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers made a quick putback with half a second left to give IU an 81-79 victory Feb. 26. Until Sunday, it was the last time Michigan State had lost. The Spartans reeled off 23 consecutive victories.\n"This was a lot like last year, but this is better," Fife said. "It's a little more exciting that last year's tip-in because Michigan State is No. 1."\nOn paper, the Spartans (12-1, 1-1 Big Ten) entered the game as the superior team. They lead IU (10-6, 1-1) in nearly every major statistical category during the season including scoring, defense, rebounding, turnovers and shooting percentage . \nBut the Hoosiers held the Spartans to 38.9 percent shooting from the floor, and forced 19 turnovers from a team that averages 14 per game.\n"I'm happy we lost," Spartan coach Tom Izzo said. "You get what you deserve, and we got what we deserve. We didn't play Spartan basketball today. IU outplayed us and outworked us."\nHaston finished with a game-high 27 points and freshman forward Jared Jeffries added 16. Haston made 11 of 21 shots including three three-pointers. Sophomore guard/forward Jason Richardson led the Spartans with 15 points.\nRichardson missed the front end of a one-and-one with 29 seconds left. It would have given Michigan State a three-point lead. Sophomore guard Tom Coverdale grabbed the rebound and called a time out. \nTwo missed shots, two fouls and three free throws later, the Hoosiers called a time out. \nIn the huddle, Davis told his team to run the play "23 Special," which would give either Hornsby or Haston a three-point look.\n"When I let it go, I couldn't see it because Randolph was in my face," Haston said after the game. "It felt good when it left my hand. When it went through, the first thing I did was look up at the clock, and I saw all zeroes. Then Coverdale tackled me -- along with the student body."\nHaston said he felt a sense of redemption after the game. At last week's Wisconsin game, he missed a free-throw that would have completed a three-point play. He also missed the front-end of a one-and-one down the stretch against the Badgers and a crucial shot against Missouri. \n"I told Kirk that this erases everything up to this point," Davis said. "I had no idea this game would come down the the last shot."\nAfter the shot fell through, Haston said, he thought about shooting 500 shots with his uncle and 2-on-1 games against friends.\n"I've made that shot probably about 1,000 times in my backyard against my next-door neighbor and a friend of his," Haston said. "Usually it came down to a three-to-win or two-to-tie, so I have to give some credit to them."\nThe score was close throughout the game. IU's largest lead was only three points, and Michigan State's was six. The Spartans outrebounded the Hoosiers 42-28. But Davis said the reason IU won can't be found in the box score.\n"This just proves that the only way we can win is to play hard and with passion," Davis said. "I told our guys to remember why we won this game; we won because we fought. There's no reason why we can't come out like that every night"