Colonel 'Killing'

Three IU players rewrote their personal history books Friday night after the 99-65 victory over Nicholls State in Assembly Hall.\nAmong the Hoosiers posting career-best performances was senior forward Marco Killingsworth. The Auburn transfer showed the Hoosier faithful what they were missing last season -- posting career highs in points, rebounds, assists and blocks.\nKillingsworth went for 28 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four blocks. His previous bests were 24 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.\n"I was just getting good looks. I was just hitting the glass hard," Killingsworth said. "When my teammates were finding me, I was just trying to score and get back down the floor on defense."\nSenior guard Marshall Strickland had a strong performance for the second consecutive game, scoring 25 points on 75 percent shooting from the field and 80 percent from beyond the arc.\n"I played real comfortable today," said Strickland, who rung up 10 of the Hoosiers' first 23 points. "I got my rhythm early and I was able to get my feet under my shot. Once I do that, I feel like every one I shoot is going in."\nJunior guard Errek Suhr came off the bench to add the exclamation point to the night of career highs. The 5-foot-8 point guard grabbed eight rebounds and tallied 11 points, besting his previous high marks of nine points and four boards. He missed only one of his five shots and was perfect from three-point range.\n"Suhr's always the same," IU coach Mike Davis said. "I say this over and over and over again -- he's one guy that you know, every single night, he's going to come out and play and do exactly what you tell him to do ... He's a hard-nosed player."\nThe win pushed IU to its eighth straight win in season openers, but the Hoosiers didn't hold firm control for the entire game. The Colonels grabbed a brief lead in the opening minutes of the game, until IU evened it up at 10-10. Nicholls State never led again, but a late charge left the halftime score at 52-42.\n"I don't know if we were playing good team defense in the first half," said Suhr, who helped the Hoosiers hold the Colonels to 23 points in the second half. "We really stepped it up in the second half and I'm happy with it."\nKillingsworth ignited Assembly Hall early in the first half when he took off down the floor on a fast break against a single Nicholls State player. The 6-foot-8 forward faked a behind-the-back pass and his defender bit, allowing an easy lay-in off the glass and into the net.\n"That came from the schoolyards -- the playgrounds" Killingsworth said.\nThe Hoosiers square off Monday night against a Florida A&M team that narrowly won its season opener Saturday night against Cleveland State 68-66.\nAfter Monday's game, IU will face only one more opponent until No. 1 Duke comes to Bloomington on Nov. 30.\n"It's like an audition," Strickland said. "We go out there and we rehearse every time we step on the floor for games like Duke and for games like Kentucky. We want to have our performance down by the time we get to those games"