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ISU at Evansville

Tipoff — 8 p.m. at Ford Center, Evansville.
Broadcasts — TV: ESPNU. Radio: WSDM-92.7 FM; Twitter:@TribStarTodd.
Last time out — ISU defeated Northern Iowa 59-54 and Evansville lost 86-74 at Wichita State on Wednesday.
Series — ISU leads 79-76. ISU defeated Evansville 80-78 in Terre Haute on Jan. 10.
The players
Indiana State Sycamores (12-9, 3-7) — G Jake Odum (6-4, So., 9.9, 5.5 apg, 5.5 rpg); G Dwayne Lathan (6-3, Sr., 11.9, 4.9 rpg); G Jordan Printy (6-4, Sr., 7.6 ppg); F Carl Richard (6-4, Sr., 10.1, 4.7 rpg) and C Myles Walker (6-8, Jr., 7.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg) are possible starters. F R.J. Mahurin (6-8, Fr., 7.1 ppg); G Steve McWhorter (6-2, Fr., 4 ppg); C Jake Kitchell (6-10, Fr., 3 ppg); G Lucas Eitel (6-4, So., 2.7 ppg); F-C Justin Gant (6-8, Fr., 1.8 ppg) and F Koang Doluony (6-8, Jr., 0.8 ppg) are possible contributors off the bench.
Coach — Greg Lansing (33-23, 2nd year)
Evansville Purple Aces (10-10, 5-5) — G Colt Ryan (6-5, Jr., 20.1, 4.7 rpg); F-G Kenny Harris (6-6, Sr., 11.6, 4.8 rpg); G Denver Holmes (6-4, Sr., 11.1); G Troy Taylor (6-0, Jr., 5.1) and F Robert Sawvell (6-8, Fr., 5.7) are possible starters. G Ned Cox (6-1, Jr., 10 ppg), G-F Lewis Jones (6-3, Jr., 5.1) and C Rokas Cesnulevicius (6-8, Fr., 1.2) are possible contributors off the bench.
Coach — Marty Simmons (61-82, 5th year at Evansville, 159-155 overall, 11th season).
Injuries — For ISU, F Carl Richard (back) and G Jake Odum (foot) are probable. For Evansville, F Jordan Jahr (foot) is out.
Next — ISU plays host to Drake and Evansville plays at Bradley on Wednesday.

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January 29, 2012

Sycamores will have to match Aces’ toughness

Team turns to the sweet science for extra practice energy

Todd Golden The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing has an enduring respect for the toughness Evansville coach Marty Simmons coaxes out of his Purple Aces.

So as ISU makes a trip to Evansville tonight, how do you get the same toughness out of the Sycamores?

One way is have strength coach Dave McManus bring his bag of tricks to practice on Friday at Hulman Center. The contents of the bag that was there for the Sycamores’ benefit?

Boxing sparring mitts. And McManus has more than enough brawn with which to use them.

Lansing had McManus test the will of ISU’s post players. McManus stood under the basket, with sparring mitts on both hands. The ball was thrown into ISU post players Myles Walker, Carl Richard, Justin Gant, Jake Kitchell and R.J. Mahurin. McManus was given near free reign to do what he had to do to bother the ISU big men in the paint.

“I was going to try and surprise him with a little elbow,” Mahurin said, but didn’t do. “A welcome to the basketball floor.”

McManus pawed at their arms, he pushed them in the back, he tried to get them off the block.

Sometimes McManus won, sometimes the Sycamores were able to adjust and make a tough post shot.

The sparring mitts were set aside and McManus broke out the basketball blocking pad. It’s a more commonly featured practice tool, but one which is usually handled by a graduate assistant or student manager. With the blocking pad in McManus’s hands, the force with which it can be implemented rises exponentially.

And so it was. The drill was repeated with McManus becoming increasingly more aggressive with the pad, finally getting to the point where he was using the pad with force that would clearly be called as a foul in an actual game – a reality Lansing was happy to ignore as the Sycamores’ will was being increasingly tested.

It rose to a crescendo when Mahurin — now healthy enough after suffering from the flu to resume his role as a favored practice target — went last. McManus was encouraged to be as rough as humanly possible with Mahurin and he took to his task with glee. Mahurin was buffeted in the paint with one shot to the back after another, but the sophomore was able to withstand the blows and converted a baby hook shot.

The effect on the Sycamores had more to do with just honing post moves in the paint. Lansing did the drill near the beginning of practice. The guards – working on the other end of the floor – began to take notice of the drill and began to cheer on their teammates. When Mahurin converted his shot, a roar rose from the rest of the Sycamores.

“It was a really good idea by coach to bring him in. He banged us up, but he got the energy going,” Mahurin said. “Going at him, you could tell it got our practice going. He pushes us like that in the weight room everyday. Just as hard. He’s a big key to our success.”

In addition, Lansing had established a nice energy level and good camaraderie with which to continue practice.

“I wish we could have coach McManus here everyday. It was about getting beat on and getting after each other. Our field goal percentage in the paint isn’t very good and we have to work on that a bit more,” Lansing said. “We have to continue to develop our finishing around the basket, our toughness and our competitiveness. I thought the guys did a good job with it and got practice off to a good start.”

ISU (12-9, 3-7) needs all of the practice it can get. Evansville (10-10, 5-5) may have lost its Jan. 10 meeting at Hulman Center against ISU and is coming off an 86-74 defeat at Wichita State, but the Aces had won their three previous games. Evansville poses problems if the Sycamores can’t manage their toughness.

“You get maximum effort on every possession. They play their roles if they’re up 15 or down 15. The challenge is to rise to their level of effort,” Lansing said of the Aces.

Junior guard Colt Ryan, a prolific enough scorer as an underclassman, has come into his own. He’s averaging 20.1 points, which would be MVC Player of the Year material, if not for the presence of Creighton’s Doug McDermott. Swingman Kenny Harris is often overlooked and has been a thorn in ISU’s side in four previous meetings.

ISU played without Mahurin in Wednesday’s victory over Northern Iowa, but he expects to be back in action. Questionable status has shifted to Dwayne Lathan, who missed Friday’s practice with the flu.

“I’m full-strength. I had a couple of really bad nights with the stomach flu. I felt really good today. I expect to be 100 percent,” Mahurin said.

It will be ISU’s first game in the Ford Center, Evansville’s new downtown arena.

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