Indiana Scares Up a Victory

Maybe USC shouldn’t feel so bad after all.

North Carolina Wilmington, that plucky 13th-seeded team that pulled off the biggest upset of the NCAA tournament’s first round with its victory over the Trojans on Thursday, threw a scare at another higher-seeded opponent Saturday night.

A 17-point second-half deficit was too much for the Seahawks to overcome, though, and they fell to fifth-seeded Indiana, 76-67, in a South Regional second-round game before 16,144 at Arco Arena.

The Hoosiers (22-11) earned a Sweet 16 date with top-ranked Duke in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday, while the Seahawks (23-10) earned some prominence.

“I don’t feel like we lost the game; I feel like they beat us,” Seahawk Coach Jerry Wainwright said. “But I’d also like to say we belonged in the game. I don’t think we’re a fluke. What happened the other night can happen, and that’s no disrespect to USC.”

Against USC, North Carolina Wilmington held a 19-point second-half lead and had to hold off the fourth-seeded Trojans in overtime to pull off a 93-89 upset.

Against the more deliberate, half-court-oriented Hoosiers, the Seahawks never led but were within 31-25 at halftime.

Indiana took off again in the second half, going up, 49-32, with 12:41 to play. But the Seahawks wouldn’t give up. They began to press the Hoosiers into turnovers and started to make their three-pointers, going on a spirited 31-17 run to close within 66-63 with 2:45 remaining after two Brett Blizzard free throws.

Blizzard had a game-high 29 points for the Seahawks.

The Hoosiers were led by forward Jared Jeffries’ 22 points.