This Time, Hoosiers Close Out Crossroads Classic With Big Finish over Notre Dame

Indiana let a second-half lead slip away again, but this time the Hoosiers answered the bell with a dominating defensive performance down the stretch to beat Notre Dame 64-56 in the final game of the Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana's 10-point lead had disappeared quickly, and that here-we-go-again dark cloud had rolled in during Saturday's game with Notre Dame at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

But this is not the same Indiana team we've seen the past few years. They spent a week talking about learning from their mistakes, and they proved it in a dominating performance in the final seven minutes, knocking off Notre Dame 64-56 with an outstanding defensive performance in the final game of the Crossroads Classic.

It was a rapid departure from a week and change ago at Wisconsin, where the Hoosiers frittered away a 22-point lead and lost a tough one. But at every media opportunity since then, they've talked about understanding what went wrong and vowing to handle it differently the next time. 

"That's the first thing I said when I closed out our meeting with the team prior to coming in here today,'' Woodson said when he met with the media after the game. "I told them, 'you stepped up and did what you had to do coming down the stretch, and you are not going to blow every team out. There's going to be games that are going to be close.' 

"Notre Dame is a good team. They are well-coached, so I didn't expect the blowout. But our guys stepped up and made the plays that we needed to make to win the game.''

The Hoosiers are now 9-2 after getting their first win away from Assembly Hall. Notre Dame, which beat then-No. 10 Kentucky last week, is now 4-5, and still struggling to make shots.

The Irish were just 4-for-22 shooting from three-point range, and were 21-for-58 total, just 36.2 percent. And that was after making 10 of their first 20 shots and building a 24-15 lead midway through the first half.

But then the Hoosiers went on a 15-3 run to close out the half, and they did it with defense. Indiana went 8-for-12 during the run and Notre Dame made just 1-of-6 shots while turning it over six times against Indiana's stifling defense.

"I was pretty happy where we were defensively, and then I thought the second half, our defense was even more steady in terms of how we wanted to cover our coverages,'' Woodson said.

Indiana was playing without freshman Tamar Bates on Saturday — he had a death in the family — so Woodson, looking for defense, played senior Rob Phinisee and Anthony Leal a lot. 

And they both rewarded him.

Indiana guard Rob Phinisee looks past Notre Dame's guard Dane Goodwin during the Hoosiers win on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Michelle Pemberton/USA TODAY Sports)

Phinisee played 25 minutes, and the point guard played alongside Xavier Johnson for a lot of the game. He had several great defensive plays, as did Leal, who played 16 minutes and didn't score a point but was still invaluable.

Neither Phinisee nor Johnson had great shooting days — until it really mattered late.

Indiana had a 10-point lead at 45-35, but then Notre Dame made its run and tied the game at 46 with 8:11 left. The Hoosiers went ahead on a Race Thompson layup, but then Phinisee — who was 1-for-6 from the field at the time — nailed a huge three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring with 4:27 left, putting Indiana ahead 52-47.

And then Johnson, who was 2-for-10 shooting at the time, followed that up with a jumper of his own to give Indiana a seven-point lead with 3:11 to go. Notre Dame was forced to foul the rest of the way, and Indiana made 8-of-10 free throws in the final minutes to close out the win.

Sealing the deal, that was huge.

"I think it shows that we're growing as a team,'' said junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. "It was really big for us. I think our defense is really what kept us in the game, and I think our defense is going to be a really big part of what keeps us in a lot of games.

"That's what we hold our hat on, and we made plays down the stretch. We got stops down the stretch that we needed to, and then we pulled that one out, so I thought it was good for us.''

Phinisee played a big role, something Woodson has been craving from the senior from Lafayette since the day he got here. He has been up and down this year, and missed three games with a calf injury that has set him back, too. 

"The thing is, Rob hasn't been 100 percent yet,'' Jackson-Davis said. "Rob hasn't been 100 percent all year, and I think when he gets there, he is going to be really, really big for us. He's a  big addition to our team. He's trying to grind it out in practice. 

"He just has to get healthy, and I think he's starting to get healthier and starting to get his confidence. Once Rob has his confidence, he can do a lot of good things for us.''

Woodson stresses defense so much that he knows Phinisee brings a lot to the table on that end. But he also knows he can help offensively, once he regains some confidence.

"He gave us a huge lift, and I need Rob in the worst way,'' Woodson said of Phinisee, who also had a team-high five assists and five rebounds. "I think he knows how I feel about him in terms of what I think he can do. I've just got to get Rob to believe more that he can do things like he did tonight.

"I mean, he is a hell of a defender, and he can make shots. He can make plays for other people. That's what point guards do. I've just got to get him more comfortable and get him more love and confidence that he can do those things.''

Indiana had four players in double figures. Parker Stewart, who made 3-of-4 three-pointers, had 12 points and Johnson and Race Thompson had 11.

This was the final year of the Crossroads Classic after an 11-year run in Indianapolis during the holidays. The Hoosiers finished 8-3 in the event, and won their last five games.

Indiana will wrap up the calendar year with a pair of nonconference games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers will play Northern Kentucky on Wednesday and then UNC-Asheville on Dec. 29. Indiana resumes its Big Ten schedule on Jan. 2 at Penn State.

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