Seniors say goodbye with Minnesota win

All the excitement Tom Coverdale had regarding Tuesday's game was not tucked away. More than once during his last appearance in Assembly Hall, the senior guard was waving his arms to pump up the crowd, and following one adrenaline-filled moment, Coverdale pumped his fist and screamed into the stands before joining his team in the timeout huddle.\nThe IU men's basketball game against Minnesota signaled more than just the end of Coverdale's, senior guard Kyle Hornsby's and senior forward Jeff Newton's careers in Bloomington. It was also crucial for the Hoosiers, who needed a win to help their chances for an NCAA tournament berth.\nIU (18-10, 8-7 Big Ten) not only took care of its seniors and its home court, it also improved its prospects of competing in the tournament by beating the Golden Gophers, 74-70. \n"This was a real big win for us. It was a must win, and we came with that attitude into this game," freshman guard Marshall Strickland said. "We knew that if we lost this game our March was going to be really short."\nThe second half, however, started in an all-too-familiar fashion. The Hoosiers came out of the break with the lead, broke down on both offense and defense and allowed the opponent to get right back into the game.\nBut the newly-refreshed IU team was not backing down with so much at stake. Despite starting the half with a turnover -- a jump ball that went Minnesota's way and a missed jumper by freshman guard Bracey Wright that allowed the Golden Gophers (16-10, 8-7) to tie that game at 43 with 18:06 left to play -- IU recovered.\nCoverdale put an end to the Hoosiers' scoring drought by draining a three-point shot as time expired on the shot clock. The game remained close as both teams matched shot for shot until there was just over 15 minutes left in the game. Following a trey by Wright, who finished with 21 points, giving IU a 52-50 advantage, both teams remained scoreless for nearly two minutes before the Golden Gophers took a one-point lead.\n"That's one thing we definitely have to work on, how we come out in the second half," Strickland said. "They fought and they got a little run early on in the second half, but we were able to collect ourselves and get rolling again."\nThe Minnesota lead was short-lived as the Hoosiers went on an 8-2 scoring run for a six-point lead with just under 10 minutes left to play. \nThe Golden Gophers closed the gap to a mere two, but IU was sent to the line three times in the remaining 50 seconds of the game to secure the win. \nLeading the way for IU was Newton who wrapped up his Assembly Hall career by scoring 22 points and grabbing 16 boards. Coverdale and Hornsby each finished with nine points, and Coverdale dished out eight assists for the night. As a team, IU out-rebounded Minnesota, 45-37.\n"We were just being lazy on defense, especially me. (Minnesota's Jerry) Holman scored six straight points on me, and so coach (Mike Davis) subbed in (junior guard/forward) A.J. (Moye), and he played really hard," junior center George Leach said. "He and Jeff (Newton) played extremely hard on defense tonight."\nThe Hoosiers experienced a sloppy start to the game as the jump ball slipped through Newton's hands and Strickland's hands to give possession to the Golden Gophers. The Hoosiers calmed down after allowing Minnesota to jump out to a quick four-point lead. Led by one of Wright's six three-point jumpers, IU went on a scoring run that was twice disrupted by three-point shots by the Golden Gophers.\nThe lead switched sides nine times before the Hoosiers left the court with a seven-point lead going into halftime. Newton had 14 first half points and eight boards, and Wright was edging in on Newton after making three-of-four treys for nine first half points.\nThe Hoosiers end their regular season Saturday when they travel to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions. \n"(The) Penn State game is going to be very, very important," Hornsby said. "We're not in a position where we can let down. Hopefully we'll come out and we'll be ready to play, because there is no other choice"