Freshmen help Indiana hold off USC Upstate

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Christian Watford finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Maurice Creek added 14 points and Verdell Jones scored 13 to lead Indiana past South Carolina-Upstate 69-61 on Monday night.

The Hoosiers are 2-0 for the third straight season, and it is the first time they've won back-to-back since late November last year.

The Spartans (0-2) were led by Mezie Uzochukwu with 14 points.

Indiana overcame a sluggish start with a 10-0 run midway through the first half to take a 16-9 lead. It closed the half on an 8-2 run to make it 32-25, then scored eight of the first 10 points in the second half to take a 40-27 lead.

Upstate never got closer than eight the rest of the way.