Court swarmed as IU upsets Spartans

It started with a simple pat on the arm.\nWhen Pat Ewing Jr. checked in late in the second half Sunday, he received the encouragement from IU Athletics Director Rick Greenspan.\nMoments later, with 42.1 seconds left in regulation and IU down 62-64, Ewing forced a turnover by Michigan State's Chris Hill, giving the Hoosiers the ball and the momentum.\nThat was all they needed.\nFrom there, freshman D.J. White took over, scoring the game-tying basket at the end of regulation and four of the Hoosiers' first five overtime points as IU knocked off No. 10 Michigan State, 78-74 Sunday afternoon in overtime.\nDespite attempts by Assembly Hall ushers and the IU Police Department, hundreds of students rushed the court for the first time since IU beat then-No. 1 Michigan State Jan. 7, 2001 when former Hoosier Kirk Haston hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer.\n"They want to rush the court," IU coach Mike Davis said. "All the students want to run on the court, no matter who you beat. If you took that yellow string and put it down, they'd rush the court if we beat freakin' Slippery Rock State.\n"Today was just a home game for us. I keep talking about home wins. You have to win your home games in the conference, and right now we're 7-0 at home, and that's the most important thing for us -- to win our home games." \nThe win moves the Hoosiers to 9-5 in the Big Ten, 14-11 overall and one game closer to a sought-after NCAA Tournament berth. The Spartans dropped to 11-3 in league play and 20-5 overall, \n"It ranks right up there at the top," junior guard Bracey Wright said of the win. "It couldn't come at a better time. The situation was perfect for us. We needed a big quality win. We needed to protect home. We killed two birds with one stone. We really showed how well we can play and that we do deserve to be in the (NCAA) tournament." \nBut it wouldn't have been possible without the heroics of Wright.\nAgain, the junior guard carried IU on his back scoring 13 of the Hoosiers' first 19 points during a 19-3 IU run in the first half to put IU ahead 19-9 with just under 14 minutes left. After the run, Wright added another jumpshot, making it 5-5 before his first miss with 11:57 left in the first half. \n"I was in the flow of things. I got hot early," Wright said. "For me, if I hit a couple baskets then the basket looks 10 times as big and I feel I can make anything. So I wanted to just be aggressive, stay aggressive and see what I can do. And 32 points worked out for me."\nThe Colony, Texas native scored 17 of his season-high 32 points in the first half and sealed the Hoosiers' win by banking in a three-pointer with just under 42 seconds left in the extra period. He ended the game shooting 9-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc. \nSunday was the first time since Dec. 11 against Kentucky that Wright made five three-pointers and the first time since Jan. 5 at Northwestern that Wright has missed only five shots. \nHelping Wright was White, who finished with 17 points and one rebound while playing only 25 minutes because of foul trouble. White had the duty of defending All-Big Ten player Paul Davis, who finished with only 12 points and fouled out with 3:25 left in overtime.\nThe first few minutes Sunday looked bleak for IU, as Michigan State jumped out to a 6-0 lead, running its patented fast break to perfection.\nBut it wasn't until the 19-3 IU run that the Hoosiers gained control. Holding the tempo at its pace, IU was able to take an 11-point lead with 6:37 left in the first half before Michigan State chipped away with an 11-0 run of its own. Junior guard Marshall Strickland ended the first half with a three-pointer, putting IU up 31-28 at the break. The Hoosiers battled back, ending the final 2:43 of regulation and 4:32 of overtime on a 14-2 run.\nStrickland finished with 13 points, eight assists and one turnover, playing 43 of the game's 45 minutes. \n"We had a good team coming into our house," Strickland said. "We feel like we can beat anyone in here. That was our goal -- to protect our house -- and we feel like we can win out at home for the Big Ten season." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.