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SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) -- There was no word if Bob Knight
was cheering in Texas, but Mike Davis has done something that his
predecessor failed to accomplish in his final six years at Indiana.
The fifth-seeded Hoosiers reached the "Sweet 16" for the first
time since 1994, surviving a "blizzard" to hold off North
Carolina-Wilmington, 76-67, in a South Region second-round
contest at Arco Arena.
Indiana (22-11) appeared to be in control, opening a 49-32 on
Tom Coverdale's 3-pointer with 12:39 remaining before the
Seahawks stormed back behind Brett Blizzard, who scored a
season-high 29 points and made 4-of-9 3-pointers.
Anthony Terrell's 3-pointer off a steal from Blizzard pulled
NC-Wilmington within 64-61 with 3:15 remaining. But the
Seahawks had no answer down the stretch for Jared Jeffries, who
scored 11 of his 22 points in the final six minutes.
NC-Wilmington again closed within three, 66-63, on Blizzard's
two foul shots with 2:45 to play, but the Hoosiers answered on
Jeffries' drive with 2:25 left. Kyle Hornsby converted 2-of-4
foul shots to make it 70-63 with 72 seconds left.
The Hoosiers will take on top-seeded Duke in the regional
semifinals Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky. The Blue Devils
survived a scare to get past Notre Dame, 81-74.
The Seahawks (23-10) appeared drained after their emotional
93-89 overtime victory over No. 4 seed Southern California in
the first round and fell behind 19-6 midway through the first
half.
NC-Wilmington closed within 31-25 at the half but the Hoosiers
quickly got the lead back into double figures early in the
second half. | 
