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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Start fast, finish strong. Indiana coach
Bob Knight told his team that was the best way to beat Michigan.
The Hoosiers clearly were paying attention.
Strong first-half shooting by Kirk Haston and Michael Lewis,
coupled with tight defense, helped Indiana (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) cruise to an 86-65 win over the Wolverines on Sunday.
|  | | Indiana's A.J. Guyton drives past Michigan's Brandon Smith for two of his 23 points. |
"It was absolutely imperative that we get started out well,"
Knight said.
Haston scored 10 of his 19 points in the first half and Lewis
had 11 of his 15 as the Hoosiers (18-4, 8-3 Big Ten) opened a
16-point halftime lead. A.J. Guyton led Indiana with 23 points, all
but seven in the second half.
"Kirk Haston is as good a post player as anyone in the league,
and they play off him," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said.
The Hoosiers, coming off a 77-75 loss at Minnesota on Feb. 9,
kept their hopes alive for at least a share of the Big Ten regular
season championship. They can assure themselves at least a tie for
the title by winning their last five games.
"I think we lost a big game Wednesday night," Knight said. "I
thought these were two games we had to win to set up the last part
of our season.
"I think this was our most important game all year because it
gives us a chance to play (for the title)."
With filmmaker Spike Lee sitting behind the Michigan bench in a
maize and blue T-shirt, freshman LaVell Blanchard scored 23 points
and Chris Young had a career-high 12 for the Wolverines (12-9,
3-7). But the Wolverines turned the ball over 18 times on the way
to their sixth straight defeat.
"We made some mental mistakes at the very beginning,"
Blanchard said. "But coach settled us down for a little while."
Michigan freshman Kevin Gaines, playing without backcourt mate
Jamal Crawford, was held scoreless on 0-for-15 shooting. Gaines had
been averaging 12.2 points per game.
Crawford, the Wolverines' leading scorer, was suspended for six
games by the NCAA because of his living arrangements while in high
school. He will miss two more games before he can return Feb. 24
against Purdue.
"We've got a little bit of the season left," Blanchard said.
"It's rough to go through a stretch like this. But all we can do
is go out and play as hard as we can."
The Hoosiers, who beat Michigan by 35 points in Bloomington on
Jan. 25, took charge right from the start of this game.
With baskets by Jeffrey Newton, Lewis and Dane Fife, plus a pair
of free throws by Haston, the Hoosiers broke to an 8-0 lead and
never trailed.
"We played against a very good basketball team and I think our
team got a little bit frustrated," Ellerbe said. "We weren't very
patient and the start was disheartening."
Successive baskets by Brandon Smith helped Michigan cut the
deficit to 20-15 midway through the half. But a jumper in the paint
by Fife, followed by two baskets by Lynn Washington, helped the
Hoosiers respond with an 11-2 run for a 26-17 lead with 8:04 left
in the half.
Two free throws by Guyton gave Indiana its biggest lead of the
half, 42-25, with just under a minute left in the half. Blanchard
had a three-point play with 35.6 remaining and the Hoosiers led
44-28 at halftime.
The Wolverines chipped away behind the shooting of Blanchard and
Young in the second half. Two free throws by Young capped a 9-3
burst that closed the gap to 62-48 with 9:22 left.
Six straight points by Washington gave the Hoosiers another
20-point lead, 72-52, with 5:22 remaining and both teams began
substituting.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Indiana Clubhouse
Michigan Clubhouse
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