FIRE FROM THE BENCH

Bracey Wright and D.J. White account for nearly 32 points per game on average.\nSaturday, the pair totaled nine.\nIU's bench overcame the lack of production from Wright and White by outscoring Minnesota's bench 27-5 en route to a 71-56 win.\nSophomore forward Pat Ewing Jr. led the reserves with a career-high 15 points and six rebounds. White expanded Ewing's playing time by going in and out of the game with foul trouble. Wright sat for the second straight game with an ankle sprain.\n"I thought Patrick and all of those guys coming off the bench did a great job," IU coach Mike Davis said. "Ewing's always going to play with energy. Today, with him scoring a career high, that's great for Patrick."\nEverything was going right Saturday for Ewing. With 6:45 left and IU ahead by 12, the sophomore had the ball at the top of the key. The Gophers' Jeff Hagan sagged off Ewing, conceding the shot. \nInitially, Ewing didn't look to shoot. But the partisan Assembly Hall crowd encouraged the sophomore to shoot and drill the three to put IU ahead by 15.\n"They let me know I was open," Ewing said. "I just let it fly."\nJunior Marshall Strickland said he was smiling and laughing as Ewing shot the three.\n"I knew it was in because it's a shot that he can make," Strickland said. "I was just happy for him."\nDavis, however, didn't want his reserve big man turning into a three-point specialist. After Ewing hit the shot, he faced a similar situation a few possessions later where he was open but passed up the three.\n"The crowd just kept egging him on. I was like, 'just leave Patrick alone,'" Davis said.\nEwing wasn't the only role-player producing baskets for the Hoosiers. Sophomore Roderick Wilmont chipped in seven points. Senior Mark Johnson hit his first three-pointer of the season after previously shooting 0 for 4, and junior Sean Kline scored two points while playing 14 minutes.\nWilmont got the Assembly Hall crowd roaring in the second half. With IU leading by 12 with more than eight minutes left, Hagan missed a layup and the loose ball was batted toward half court. Wilmont picked it up on the run for the break away and scored to put the Hoosiers up 14 -- their largest lead at that point.\nKline said the bench just played hard. \n"For us to win, we've got to come out and play 40 minutes, balls to the wall," Kline said. \nAgainst Illinois in the Hoosiers' first game without Wright, the reserves scored only five points. To win against Minnesota, Ewing said more Hoosiers had to step up. \n"Well, everybody knows Bracey is a big part of our team," Ewing said. "Today, I think everyone stepped up and contributed."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.