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NCAA Tournament Recap (Geo Washington-Indiana)
Posted: Fri March 12, 1999 at 1:59 a.m EST ORLANDO (Ticker) -- Sixth-seeded Indiana exploded for its highest point total in almost four years and pounded George Washington, 108-88, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the South Region. Kirk Haston scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Indiana, which led 48-31 at halftime and poured it on in the second half, scoring 60 points to blow the game open. "We definitely wanted to come out and play well," said Haston. "We knew we had a big lineup. That was going to be a big part of the game. We wanted to help out our guards as much as we could." The Hoosiers' 108-point outburst is its best offensive showing since a 110-79 rout of Iowa on March 12, 1995. "We got off to a really good start," said Indiana coach Bob Knight. "After the first few minutes we setted down. With our lead at the half, we put ourselves in a position where we could do some different things in the second half. All in all it was a really good ballgame for us." Indiana (23-10) will play third-seeded St. John's in the second round Saturday. The Hoosiers won their first-round game for the second straight year but have not advanced to the regional semifinals since 1994. Shawnta Rogers netted 28 points for George Washington (20-9), which lost in the first round for the second straight season and is winless in the NCAA Tournament since a 51-46 triumph over Alabama-Birmingham in the first round in 1994. "We did everything we could to lose," said George Washington coach Tom Penders. "These kids want it so bad. It takes a while for your personality to get totally into the kids, but they're great kids. They were too tight early. We tried to pass when we had shots and shoot when we had passes." "It's real disappointing to lose again in the first round, especially since its my last college game," Rogers said. George Washington's Patrick Ngongba opened the scoring with a bucket 27 seconds into the game, but Guyton connected on one from the line and Luke Recker scored to give Indiana a 3-2 lead. After the teams traded baskets, Mike King's free throw with 15:22 left in the first half forced a 5-5 tie. It was the Colonials' last points for over three minutes, and for all intents and purposes, the last time they were in the game. Guyton drained a 3-pointer with 15:05 left to ignite a 15-0 run. Lynn Washington and William Gladness scored baskets and Haston hit two from the line to make it 14-5. Gladness scored and then moments later converted a follow shot. Recker's bucket with 12:27 to go before halftime made it 20-5. "Kirk got in good position and we did a good job of getting him the ball," Knight said. A bucket by Roey Eyal did bring the Colonials within 24-19 with 7:33 left in the half, but Indiana put together a 12-2 spurt to take a 36-21 lead with 1:59 left in the half. Lewis and Haston scored four points apiece in the run, which Haston capped with two free throws, and Indiana was able to cruise through the final 22 minutes. "We wanted to get up on them at halftime," said Guyton. "We wanted to keep on playing hard and not look at the clock and play our game." Recker had 20 points and five rebounds and Washington contributed 12 and six for Indiana, which shot a blistering 65.5 percent (38-of-58) from the field and made 31-of-39 from the foul line. Yegor Mescheriakov scored 24 points while grabbing seven rebounds and Francisco de Miranda had 10 and seven for the Colonials, who connected on just 38 percent (34-of-90) of their field goals and were 9-of-31 from 3-point range. "We accomplished a lot of things, and set the tone for next year," added Penders. "And one disappointing game in the NCAA Tournament is not going to discourage me."© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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