Hoosiers hang tough, fall to No. 5 Gonzaga 70-54

INDIANAPOLIS – After being trounced by No. 15 Wake Forest on Wednesday, IU faced another nationally ranked foe Saturday – No. 5 Gonzaga.

The Hoosiers kept the game close throughout, but eventually succumbed to the Bulldogs, losing 70-54.
    
The game marked the first ever basketball game at Lucas Oil Field. And like his football coaching brother-in-laws – John and Jim Harbaugh – IU coach Tom Crean paced the sidelines with vigor; urging players, fans and, at one point, the cheerleaders to get into the game.
    
 “Everybody’s alive!” Crean told his players before tip off. “Everybody’s into the game!”
    
Shooting a barrage of 3-pointers and playing pesky defense, IU (4-4) kept the game within striking distance throughout, but Gonzaga eventually pulled away at the end of the second half.
    
Leading the Hoosiers was freshman Malik Story, who had a career high 14 points coming off the bench.
    
“We know that we can compete,” Story said. “And we can probably win games like this.”
    
The effort IU exhibited resulted in sloppy play early from Gonzaga (6-0). The Bulldogs shot less than 20 percent from beyond the arc and scored a season low 70 points.

Straightening things out in the second half, Gonzaga came out on fire to build a 13 point lead, but IU fought back to make the game close throughout the remainder of the half.
    
Keeping the Hoosiers alive was effective 3-point shooting. IU hit 50 percent of their threes in the second half and actually finished with a higher 3-point shooting percentage than total field goal percentage.
    
IU freshman Matt Roth said their ability to hit jumpers was related to the type of defense Gonzaga played against them.
    
“I think we just took what they were giving us,” Roth said. “They played real well defensively and we just had to take what was open and that happened to be jump shots.”
    
But seemingly every time the Hoosiers came up with a big play Gonzaga came right back with an answer. Gonzaga senior Jeremy Pargo essentially slammed the door shut with an emphatic windmill dunk late in the second half.
    
Leading the Zags was center Josh Heytvelt, who won the Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase MVP in the game with a complete effort – 17 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
    
“We needed to experience and learn how to kind of win an ugly grinder game and we did that,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “And I thought we came in wanting to match Indiana’s intensity and desire and how hard they were playing.”
    
Although the game was considered to be played on a neutral site, the crowd was anything but. The majority of the crowd donned cream and crimson clothing, which the team said gave the feel of a home game only in a much larger venue.

“Lucas Oil is obviously a lot bigger, the noise doesn’t quite all go down on the court like Assembly which makes Assembly a special place,” Roth said. “But it was still a great environment here.”
    
Although IU took two losses in the week, Roth said the overall experience of having to play two nationally ranked teams in four days will be beneficial for the teams future.

“I think it was a good experience for us,” Roth said. “In a year where we’re learning so much about ourselves, to go on the road and see what that’s like and to have this experience in a week, it’s been great.”