IU youth delivers first win in 12 games

A group of four freshmen — and one sophomore — propelled IU to an 88-80 overtime victory against Northwestern.

The win snapped an 11-game conference losing streak, the longest in IU men’s basketball
history.

Freshman guard Jordan Hulls had a team-high 24 points off 8-of-12 3-pointers, nearly missing last year’s record of nine made 3-point attempts set by sophomore guard Matt Roth. Four of Hull’s 3s came in the second half and one in overtime.

Freshman forward Bobby Capobianco — who played on the same AAU team with Hulls — said he wasn’t too surprised by Hulls’ game.

“I’ve seen him do that on countless occasions,”
Capobianco said. “For a lot of people, that’s the first time they’ve seen him explode like that.”

Hulls was not the only rookie who delivered.

Freshman forward Derek Elston gave the Hoosiers another key punch. His sixth time starting — and the first time in a month since the Feb. 7 game against these same Wildcats — produced Elston’s best output: 8 rebounds and a career-high 17 points.

It wasn’t only the freshmen who made an impact. While the only stats he recorded were two fouls, senior center Tijan Jobe started for the first time this season. Crean said the reason Jobe got to start was not that it was his last game.

“I started him because I wanted that energy,” he said.

Fans responded to Jobe, chanting his name as they have done all season each time the 7-foot center from The Gambia stepped on the court.

Jobe only played four minutes, as sophomore center Tom Pritchard and freshman center Bobby Capobianco provided a presence inside.

Unlike last year’s 64-59 loss to Michigan State on Kyle Taber’s senior night, this team looked like it would have a celebration Saturday both during and after the game.

IU had the lead for most of regulation, until the 3:24 mark in the second half. With an eight-point lead, IU got too comfortable against the Wildcats, who went on an 8-0 run to tie up the game at 69.

But the Hoosiers regrouped in overtime, led again by a freshmen onslaught. Of the 19 points scored in overtime, 17 were by freshmen Hulls, Elston, Capobianco and Watford.

“The game wasn’t perfect by any means, but a lot of guys just stepped up and had each other’s back when somebody messed up,” Elston said.

It had been more than 40 days since an IU win at Assembly Hall, days in which fans had seen the worst loss at the arena. But the fans that stuck around after the game saw Crean and the rest of the coaching staff honor the four seniors whose final game was a bittersweet reminder that their time in Bloomington would be over soon.

While most of this season’s games included junior forward Jeremiah Rivers and Pritchard, Elston and Jobe replaced the two Saturday. Crean said the youngsters
played like veterans, and Elston said they can now be counted on to win for IU.

“We’re just happy to know that we can step up and be go-to guys for Coach when he needs us,” Elston said.

Despite the freshmen help, Saturday still belonged to the upperclassmen. The senior day tradition started after the game.

Four stands held framed jerseys of the four seniors who each had a different journey before — and during — their time at IU. As film showed highlights of practices and games for the four, the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” played before all four walked out onto the court.

Steven Gambles began the thank-you speeches. In street clothes, Gambles thanked the crowd for their support as he has been absent for the past couple weeks due to a family illness.

Brett Finklemeier provided the crowd with some laughs as he listed the nicknames he and his teammates have for Jobe. Dumes — last year’s leading scorer — also spoke, but it was the final senior who made the biggest impact.

Jobe, whose mother passed away earlier this season, thanked everyone from God to his teammates before embracing each on the court.

Even though the four seniors did not have as many wins as they had hoped, they all said they were grateful for their time at IU.

“I could never imagine being in a place where people care about you so much,” Gambles said.