Newton leads team to victory over Flames

Last Thursday and Friday, senior forward Jeff Newton was sidelined in practice because of illness.\nSaturday afternoon, Newton led the IU men's basketball team with 25 points and 12 rebounds in the 91-62 victory over the University of Illinois-Chicago (2-2).\nIllness or constant injury aside, Newton stepped up for the No. 10 Hoosiers yesterday, recording his third straight double-double, while helping IU stay undefeated at 6-0.\n"I didn't realize it, but it's good," Newton said smiling, about his scoring in double figures in every game this season. "I'll take it. I probably am more focused. Coach told me he would run the first five plays for me, so I just wanted to come out aggressive and take it to the hole and convert."\nHaving a mere eight points going into the locker room at the half, Newton was sent to the free throw line after being fouled on a dunk attempt just 12 seconds following the break. Perfect with the shots, he went on to score three of the next four Hoosier baskets, and helped extend IU's lead to 18.\nThe Hoosiers had the height advantage against the Flames, who started four players under 6-5, and with IU's backcourt being pressured by the UIC guards, it was Newton and junior center George Leach who were the go-to guys on Saturday.\n"We knew we were going to look to (Newton) more coming into this game," senior guard Tom Coverdale said. "(UIC) weren't as tall as some of the other teams we've played against and we wanted to take advantage of that. I thought we did a better job in the second half of getting him the ball more."\nBut UIC continued to battle back. The Flames had closed the 16-point halftime gap to 12 with just over 15 minutes left in the game.\nBut emotion got the best of UIC, who fouled sloppily, and sent the Hoosiers to the free-throw line 25 times in the second 20 minutes of play. IU took advantage of the free shots, averaging 88 percent in the second half.\nUIC's Martell Bailey, a 5-10 junior guard, exchanged words with Coverdale and Leach during the tense second half, and was booed by the sold-out Assembly Hall crowd for the remainder of the game.\n"I don't understand guys like that, who still talk when they are down 25-30 points," Coverdale said, who finished with 14 points and five assists. "He was just talking, but that's just part of the game. He was obviously frustrated about getting beat."\nIU shot 45.3 percent from the field, a much improved percentage from the 29 percent against Maryland Tuesday night.\nThe Hoosiers were helped by freshman guard Bracey Wright, who scored 16 points in 24 minutes of play, and by freshman guard Marshall Strickland who came off the bench to go 3-for-6 from the field, and was a perfect 5-for-5 on the line. Strickland ended with 13 points.\nThe Hoosiers quickly used the inside game to get an early lead thanks to consecutive jump shots by Newton. IU extended its lead by going on a 12-0 scoring run in the first half. The Hoosiers led by as much as 19 points, but went into the locker room with a 16-point lead.\nIU looks to extend their win streak to seven when they take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at 7 p.m. in Assembly Hall.\n"It's good," Wright said, of the win. "We have to learn to put teams away, and when we get teams down, we've got to keep them down. So hopefully this is a start to something we can get going"