Indiana 79-70 game recap

[NT80]

Visit home a treat for Wright, Indiana, 79-70

The Colony product pours in 39, leaves UNT behind

11:47 PM CST on Monday, December 29, 2003

By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle

DENTON – Bracey Wright knew he was in for a big night when one of his worst looking shots turned out to be just as good as the rest in Indiana's game against North Texas on Monday.

The former standout at The Colony hoisted up a 3-point shot that appeared to be long, but banked off the glass and settled into the net. The shot turned out to be one of several highlights for Wright in the Hoosiers' 79-70 win over UNT at the Super Pit.

"I told A.J. [Moye] when I banked in that 3 that it was going to be my night," Wright said.

He was right. The sophomore finished with a career-high 39 points and hit 6-of-8 3-pointers.

"It was a great experience," Wright said. "A lot of people from my high school, old coaches and family members came. To play like I did in the one time they will get to see me play close to home was a wonderful experience."

Wright got off to a quick start by scoring 28 points in the first half after hitting his first nine shots of the game. He missed all three of his shots from the field in the second half, but hit 11 free throws after intermission.

"For Bracey to come out and play like this in his hometown was a great feeling for him and a great feeling for me," Indiana coach Mike Davis said.

UNT (4-6) managed to stay within striking distance despite Wright's big night. The Mean Green cut what had been a 15-point Indiana lead in the second half to five points, 69-64, with 3:26 left on a pair of free throws by Shawnson Johnson.

The senior forward led UNT with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

[whiterockgreen]

No doubt about it, that Kid (Wright) can play.

Idle question, not to be a complete whiner because our outside shooting certainly wasn't great, but were those Big 10 officials. We sure didn't seem to get any calls down the stretch even when I thought we played excellent defense.