Indiana shooters deadly

Hoosiers conquer Charlotte; 'Zags win

? Coach Mike Davis has a goal each game for Indiana: take no more than a total of three contested shots. If the Hoosiers follow through, he figures they stand a good chance of making at least as many as they miss.

The latest evidence came Monday night at the expense of the Charlotte 49ers.

Marco Killingsworth had 17 points, and Robert Vaden and Marshall Strickland each made four of Indiana’s 13 three-pointers as the 18th-ranked Hoosiers pulled away from Charlotte for a 71-54 victory.

“When you shoot contested shots, your percentage goes down,” Davis said. “We don’t have to take contested shots. We’re going to get open shots. All our shots we made from the three-point line were wide-open shots.”

Vaden finished with 14 points, and Strickland added 12 as Indiana (6-2) shot 53 percent and showed little rustiness from a nine-day layoff for exams. D.J. White saw his first action of the season after sitting out the first seven games because of a broken left foot. He had eight points and five rebounds.

“It was good to be out there,” White said. “I missed a couple of shots I normally hit, but all in all, I felt like I helped the team out a little bit.”

The Hoosiers lost a heartbreaker in this series last season, when Brendan Plavich made a heave from halfcourt just before the buzzer to give the 49ers a one-point victory.

Indiana's A.J. Ratliff, bottom, is hung up under Charlotte's Curtis Withers. Indiana won, 71-54, Monday in Charlotte, N.C.

The Hoosiers were 13-of-23 for the game after making 10 in the first half, leaving Charlotte (5-5) with few options on defense.

De’Angelo Alexander had 11 points for Charlotte, which shot only 27 percent.

No. 8 Gonzaga 75, Eastern Washington 65

Spokane, Wash. — Adam Morrison scored 29 points, just above his Division I-leading average, to lead Gonzaga.

J.P. Batista added 22 points for the Bulldogs (8-2), who have won four straight games overall and 20 in a row over Eastern Washington since 1990.

Freshman Rodney Stuckey had 20 points for the Eagles (4-5), who led by five points in the second half.

Morrison, who came in averaging 28.4 points, has scored at least 25 seven times this season. Morrison scored seven points after Eastern tied the game for the sixth time in the second half, 60-60 with 5:35 to go.