IU mens basketball handles Longwood at home

The IU men’s basketball team was supposed to have a potent offensive attack. \nBut it was the staunch defense that impressed coach Kelvin Sampson during No. 8 IU’s 100-49 win against Longwood on Sunday at home. \nThe Hoosiers allowed just 19 points in the second half en route to a first-round win in the Chicago Invitational Challenge. \n“The great thing about this win, we beat this team like we should beat them,” Sampson said. “It was good to see our kids play that way. To beat them this bad, we had to play good. We had to play good at both ends. \n“If you go out there and you’re giving a half-ass effort or you’re not doing the little things right, all the sudden you look up and this is a 15-, 17-point game maybe. But we won the game the right way because we did everything good. That’s good to see.”\nThe Hoosiers allowed fewer points against the Lancers than they did in the first half of their season opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga last week. \n“They were a lot better today than they were the last game, so the improvement’s good to see,” Sampson said.\nThe Hoosiers allowed just two points in the first 4:57 of the second half. After scoring their 41st point at the 11:13 mark, the Lancers were scoreless until 2:31 remained in the game – a nearly nine-minute scoring drought.\nIn that time, IU scored \n22 points.\n“(Sampson) really emphasizes playing defense and then the other things will come,” said freshman guard Jordan Crawford.\nIU stole the ball 11 times – eight in the second half. The Hoosiers forced 16 turnovers and outrebounded the Lancers 46-33. Freshman forward Eli Holman blocked two shots in his performance off the bench. \nThe offense wasn’t too bad, either. \nWhile the Lancers shot 26 percent from the field Sunday, IU shot 58 percent.\nFor the first time since 1988, six Hoosiers finished the game with double-digit scoring totals. \nAfter the game, Longwood coach Mike Gillian said he thinks IU has the balance to be successful this season.\n“You have to understand, there is an upper echelon that exists and I have a hard time believing there are seven teams in the country better than the team we just played against,” he said in a statement after the game. \nThe Hoosiers shot 11-of-18 from behind the 3-point line and 13-of-19 from the foul stripe. IU finished the game having made 38 shots and had 22 assists, a stat that Sampson emphasized after the game.\n“This team is playing early like it should,” Sampson said, “and now we’re starting to get better.”\nThe Hoosiers continue play in the Chicago Invitational Challenge on Nov. 20 when they host the North Carolina-Wilmington before traveling to Chicago for the final two rounds of the tournament starting Friday. Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s game, IU will play in the semifinal matchup against Illinois State on Friday.