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IU-Southeast Claims FWO/Luxbury Tournament with 75-72 Win over USF

Nov. 6, 2004

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Indiana University - Southeast took advantage of 23 USF turnovers and held off the Cougars 75-72 in the title game of the FWO/Luxbury Inn Tournament at Hutzell Athletic Center. Brandon Richie's 20 points paced the Grenadiers, who overcame a one-point halftime deficit en route to victory.

"I am very disappointed in our lack of enthusiasm and sense of
urgency. We were outplayed in about every aspect of the game on our home
court," USF head coach Jeff Rekeweg said. "We did not give ourselves a
chance with the turnovers and had no appreciation for the value of a possession."

With a one-point lead coming out of the locker room, USF extended its advantage to as many as eight early in the second half. A fast break bucket by Ryan Bradley and a Zach Beiswanger three-pointer in transition keyed the USF surge to start the half.

IUSE chipped away at the USF lead, capitalizing on Cougar turnovers. The Grenadiers scored 28 points off turnovers in the game, many coming after the 15 minute mark in the second stanza.

With IUSE erasing the Cougar lead and maintaining an eight-point advantage late, USF was forced to send the Grenadiers to the line to keep the comeback hopes alive.  Back-to-back threes from Beiswanger and Nick Ankenbruck cut the deficit to two with less than 10 seconds remaining. After IUSE sank one of two from the charity stripe with 4.4 seconds on the clock, Ankenbruck's desperation heave from just beyond mid-court came up short as time expired.

Beiswanger finished with 20 points, four rebounds and three assists, earning all-tournament honors. Joining him on the all-tournament team from USF was Chase Holden, who had 10 points and five rebounds in the final. IUSE's Richie was honored as the tournament MVP.

The Cougars (1-1) return to the Hutzell Athletic Center court on Tuesday, Nov. 9 against Cornerstone University in a 7 p.m. tip. Cornerstone took a 68-61 decision over USF last season (11/11/03) in Grand Rapids, Mich.

-Go USF-

 

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