The IU men’s basketball needed something to go its way during Wednesday night’s game against Minnesota. Shots fell and rebounds bounced their way, but the Hoosiers clung to a small lead that they could not increase. \nFinally, with 8:56 left in the game, the Hoosiers got the break they’d been waiting for. IU pieced together an 8-0 run to take a 60-50 advantage against the Golden Gophers, en route to a 71-59 victory Wednesday night in Assembly Hall.\n“I could tell our defense was starting to pick up,” IU coach Kelvin Sampson said of the late run. “I think the difference in our defense the second half to the first half was that we were pressuring them so hard after the catch that they were drawing contact on penetrations. At halftime we just tried to relieve pressure and work on containment.”\nIU took advantage of Minnesota’s 13 turnovers in the contest and converted them into 14 points. Besides the Hoosiers’ strong defense down the stretch, the team got key contributions from some of its bench players, including freshman Joey Shaw, who grabbed six rebounds in the contest and nailed a 3-pointer to begin the Hoosiers’ late run. \n“The bench was good tonight,” Sampson said. “Joey Shaw coming off the bench, I thought he played tougher tonight.”\nSenior Errek Suhr also came off the bench for IU, tallying 15 minutes of action. Suhr scored just two points in the contest, but the point guard drew three charges.
Sophomore Allen ties season high for points\nIt may have just been four points on the stat sheet, but for sophomore center Ben Allen it was more than that.\nAllen nailed two hook shots in the first half of Wednesday night’s game during his 10 minutes of reserve play. Sampson said after the game that he was proud of Allen’s performance, and is beginning to see a change in the young center, especially with his confidence.\n“I’m happy for Ben. But Ben’s really worked hard and he’s put in a lot of time,” Sampson said. “It’s almost a transformation for him in some respects. The way he’s played almost his whole life is on the perimeter … I thought the best thing Ben did tonight was his post defense.”
Sampson reunites with former player\nMinnesota guard Lawrence McKenzie, who tallied 20 points in the Golden Gophers’ loss, reunited with his former coach Wednesday night. McKenzie played two years under Sampson at Oklahoma before transferring to Minnesota in 2005. \nThe Golden Gophers’ junior guard nailed 3-of-4 three-pointers in the contest, along with 9-of-10 free throws. His 20 points tied Minnesota forward Dan Coleman for the team high.
