National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Indiana 79, New Mexico St. 66
When: 9:45 PM ET, Thursday, March 15, 2012
Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon
Officials: # Kevin Brill, # Sean Hull, # Mike Roberts
Attendance: 17519

Indiana 79 New Mexico State 66: Jordan Hulls scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half as Indiana reached the round of 32 for the first time since 2007.

No. 4 seed Indiana (26-8), in the NCAA tournament for the first time in four years, will play No. 12 seed VCU on Saturday.

The 13th-seeded Aggies (26-10) were down 51-38 at the 14:07 mark when Hulls took over. During one stretch, Hulls scored 11 straight Indiana points, nine coming on a trio of 3-pointers, as the Hoosiers built their largest lead at 62-41.

Later, with New Mexico State trying to get the deficit back into single digits and Hulls getting a breather on the bench, Indiana went to Cody Zeller in the paint and the freshman added two buckets to get the lead back to 14.

Indiana led by 12 midway through the first half, going up 29-17 on a bucket by Victor Oladipo, but New Mexico State settled in and went on a run. The Aggies got baskets from five different players during a 11-4 spurt that made it a 33-28 game with just under three minutes until halftime.

Zeller, Christian Watford and Will Sheehey each had 14 points to help pace the Hoosiers. For the Aggies, who have lost five consecutive NCAA games, Wendell McKines led the way with 15 points in his final game and Bandja Sy added 12 off the bench.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Both teams were excellent shooting the ball in the opening half as New Mexico State hit 12 of 23 (52 percent) field goals and the Hoosiers made 14 of 26 (53 percent). … Indiana tied Duke for sixth all-time with its 37th NCAA tournament appearance. … The Hoosiers’ 26 wins are the most for the program since the 1992-1993 team won 31.
Top Game Performances
 
New Mexico St.   Indiana
Wendell McKines 15 Scoring Jordan Hulls 22
Daniel Mullings 3 Assists Cody Zeller 4
Wendell McKines 7 Rebounds Cody Zeller 6
Tshilidzi Nephawe 3 Free Throws Made Cody Zeller 4
Hernst Laroche 2 Steals Cody Zeller 6
Tshilidzi Nephawe 3 Blocks N/A
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
New Mexico St. 66 55.1 4-12 8-10 7 22 6 5 17
Indiana 79 59.3 7-13 8-10 15 21 0 12 12
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