Haston, Jeffries lead Hoosiers to 13-point win

Considering this season is a transition period for the men's basketball team, things could be much worse for the IU basketball program.\nIt could be Michigan's situation.\nTwo of the Wolverines' starting guards were benched in the first half for violating team rules, a key reserve guard didn't even make the trip because he also violated team rules, and Michigan turned the ball over 16 times in the first half -- not to mention IU handed the Wolverines their fourth consecutive loss Sunday, defeating them 72-59 before a crowd of 16,859 in Assembly Hall.\n"No one in this room thought we'd have a chance to win 19 games, but we've come a long way as a basketball team," interim head coach Mike Davis said. "I just hope the pressure doesn't mount on these guys." \nWith Iowa and Wisconsin both losing this weekend, the Hoosiers' win put them in a tie for third place in the Big Ten and improved their conference record to 6-4. The win was IU's third in a row. \nIt was also a career-high effort for junior center Kirk Haston, who scored 30 points on 8-of-21 from the field and hit all 11 of his free throws. Freshman forward Jared Jeffries also finished with a career high, scoring 26 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The two combined for 77 percent of IU's offense.\nJunior guard Dane Fife said he realizes Davis wants more production on offense from the guards, who combined for 14 points. But the bottom line, Davis said, is that Haston and Jeffries are the team's go-to players.\n"If you take Michael Jordan out of the Bulls' mix, their team is nothing. Every team has to have scorers, and every team has to have role players," Fife said. "The fact is, those guys are our key scorers, and if they don't score, we're going to have a tough time winning."\nBut with Michigan starting guards Avery Queen and Bernard Robinson, Jr., on the bench in the first half for violating team rules, the Hoosiers had coasted to a 42-24 halftime lead.\nMichigan (9-13, 3-8) turned the game over in the first half as the Wolverines surrendered the ball 12 times in their last 19 possessions. IU began a 16-0 run at the 11:02 mark when the Hoosiers scored 12 unanswered points on six Michigan turnovers in six consecutive possessions.\nThe Hoosiers were down 12-5 at the 12:22 mark when Haston found his niche. He hit a three-pointer, followed it with two free throws and another three-pointer to inch IU within three. Sophomore guard Kyle Hornsby hit another three-pointer at the 10:06 mark to tie the score at 16.\n"I started off 0-for-5. I've started off better, but I ended up getting in a pretty good groove there for a little bit," Haston said. "My teammates kept feeding me the ball when I was open, the crowd got behind us and we followed the momentum."\nIU held Michigan scoreless for six minutes until guard Gavin Groninger made a three-point basket, bringing the score to 26-19. Guard Mike Gotfredson, who started the first half in place of Queen, didn't take any shots and had five turnovers in 17 minutes.\n"We had three kids that violated team rules, and those are the consequences," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said, unwilling to go into further detail. \nBut with Queen and Robinson, Jr. playing the second half, Michigan narrowed the gap by as much as seven with 3:17 remaining. IU was ahead 57-40 with 8:47 left in the game when Michigan went on an 8-0 run.\nThe IU defense held Michigan to 44 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Sophomore guard Tom Coverdale, who finished 0-of-6 from the field, said the win wasn't pretty, but it was still a confidence booster.\n"Our defense in the first half was excellent," Coverdale said. "Unfortunately, we didn't have the same intensity in the second half. But we held on and got the win"