Davis gets last Assembly win

On Sunday afternoon, the emotion in Assembly Hall was thick enough to hold off even a late Spartan surge.\nIU fought out a 78-71 victory against Michigan State to make its coach's final stint on Branch McCracken Court a memorable one. The No. 16 Spartans contended with an inspired Hoosier team that was battling for its place in the NCAA Tournament, honoring its four departing seniors and recognizing the achievements of its 1981 \nnational championship team.\n"There was a lot of emotion," senior guard Marshall Strickland said. "It was my last home game, coach Davis' and let alone the game that we need for our NCAA Tournament hopes."\nIU (15-10, 7-7 Big Ten) maintained firm control until early in the second half, when senior forward Marco Killingsworth got into foul trouble. The Spartans (19-9, 7-7) outscored the Hoosiers 25-8 in the time period between the 17:27 and 7:06 marks, pushing them to their first lead of the game at 62-61.\n"They're Michigan State ... They're going to make that run," Killingsworth said. "We just have to weather the storm."\nAfter that storm, neither team led by more than three until 6:20 remained on the clock. Down 67-69, IU broke the stalemate, going on an 11-2 run that would propel the Hoosiers to victory.\nStrickland and junior guard Errek Suhr fueled the surge, with Suhr handling the intangibles -- fouling out MSU center Paul Davis during an IU offensive possession. \nWhen Davis was chasing his man along the baseline, he laid out Suhr, whose two free throws tied things up at 69-69.\n"The turning point of the basketball game was fouling him out of the game," IU coach Mike Davis said.\nWith about a minute and a half remaining, MSU guard Travis Walton walked the ball up the floor, his team down 75-71. Suhr pressured him and came up with the steal, then drove to the basket and missed a layup. He was then fouled amid snagging his own rebound, going on to sink both free throws.\n"Man, you've got to watch for that Suhr," Killingsworth said. "He's real tricky."\nStrickland pushed IU to a 72-69 ledger off a hard drive to the basket. The senior caught the ball off a kickout pass and drove the lane hard to draw the foul from MSU forward Delco Rowley. The right-handed guard flung the ball off the backboard and through the net with his left hand, putting him on the foul line for a successful three-point play.\n"I felt like I was in high school again -- just going through the lane, being athletic and finishing," Strickland said with a smile.\nStrickland finished with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Killingsworth contributed 18, and sophomore guard Robert Vaden led all Hoosiers with 21, also adding 10 rebounds and five assists. The Spartans' Maurice Ager tallied 30 points in the losing effort.\nAfter the game, Vaden made it clear his time at IU is up.\n"I'm almost positive that I won't be back," he said.\nAt the press conference after the game, much lighter sentiments arose, as most of the Hoosiers expressed the general feeling of rejuvenation.\n"It felt like we were the team from back in the beginning of the year," Vaden said.