Published: November 28, 2009 10:19 pm         

Talented freshmen Creek, Watford lead IU past Northwestern State

Bloomington — Considering his team’s previous week, Indiana coach Tom Crean said the Hoosiers needed Saturday’s 90-72 victory over Northwestern State in a big way.

The Hoosiers (3-3), after three consecutive losses in Puerto Rico, stayed in town through Thanksgiving break and endured what Crean described as a long week of practice, a week that included two Thanksgiving Day sessions.

A tough week? Absolutely, Crean said, but because of Saturday’s victory in front of 11,128 at Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers’ second-year coach said it was a valuable one, too.

“We’ve had a long week — a very long week, but we’ve worked hard through it,” Crean said after Indiana pulled away from the Demons (2-2) in the final 10 minutes. “We’ve had a very good week of getting better, and a very good week of starting to learn our roles.

“We are playing hard and playing with a real purpose. Today was one of those times where the experience of going through some of those losses has come back to help us.”

Guard Maurice Creek and forward Christian Watford, a pair of freshmen, scored 17 points each to lead Indiana, with Creek — the Hoosiers’ leading scorer at 16.2 points a game through the first five games — scoring in double figures for the sixth time in as many games.

Thirteen of Creek’s points came in the first half, helping Indiana to a 45-35 lead.

The Hoosiers lost all three games last weekend in a tournament in Puerto Rico.

“It put us on the right track,” Creek said of Saturday’s victory. “This game right here showed that even though we didn’t have the greatest time in Puerto Rico that we can come back stronger and harder, and that we can respond better than what we did in Puerto Rico.

“We have to be able to do that every game. We have to keep the momentum and same intensity as we had this game, and we have to bring it even more.”

The Hoosiers, who will play host to No. 25 Maryland in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge Tuesday, forced 23 turnovers, 13 of which came on steals. Indiana, which never trailed, committed 18 turnovers, which led to 23 of Northwestern State’s points, but Crean said mistakes weren’t his theme afterward.

“We’re asking a lot of these guys,” Crean said. “We’re asking so much of them and they have to see why we work this hard. They don’t always see it yet. We needed something good today, to build on, because we’re asking so much of them. It’s so demanding.

“I’m not going to back off it, but I want them to see they’re doing it. That’s important — really important.”

Even with the mistakes, the Hoosiers got a balanced effort throughout — offensively and defensively. Freshman forward Derek Elston had 12 points for Indiana, and senior guard Devan Dumes added 11 points. Junior guard Jeremiah Rivers had 10 assists.

Guard Devon Baker led Northwestern State with 14 points and forward Will Pratt added 10.

The Hoosiers led 59-50 with 10:19 remaining, then scored the next eight points and kept the lead in double digits the rest of the way.

Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy said it was important for his team to stay close, which it did until midway through the second half.

“I was proud of that, because that’s important,” McConathy said. “We didn’t mass substitute in the second half like we normally do. We were trying to stay within striking distance. I was proud of the fact that we did hang around.”