BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — With an inbounds pass underneath its own basket in a tie game with 0.6 second left on the road, the only strategy available to the Indiana State’s men’s basketball team to pull out a miracle victory over Western Kentucky was a wing-and-a-prayer.
The “wing” was deadly accurate. The prayer was answered by a whistle. The miracle was delivered by a Rashad Reed free throw as ISU pulled off a stunning 64-63 victory in front of an apoplectic crowd of 2,269 at WKU’s Diddle Arena.
WKU had just wiped out a nine-point deficit in the span of less than two minutes when Jameson Tipping made a miraculous play of his own, a long, off-balance game-tying 3-pointer. Harry Marshall was charged with delivering the inbounds pass to try and make the longest of long-shot miracles come true for the Sycamores.
As he scoped his options, he saw Reed break off toward the ISU 3-point line on the left wing.
“With 0.6 seconds, all you can do is catch and shoot, I knew we had time for that. The idea was to just get it down the floor and see what happens,” Marshall said.
Marshall hurled a perfect lob to Reed, who caught the ball and released it with one motion. WKU center Jeremy Evans, who was trying to get to the ball, ran into Reed as he attempted his shot. Official Tim Gattis blew his whistle, calling a foul on Evans, and Reed went to the line.
“They were cheating over to Jake [Kelly]. Harry and I made eye-contact and he threw it. I tried to make the shot, he got my arm, it was a good call,” Reed said.
Reed converted one free throw with 0.1 on the clock to cap a wild finale for the Sycamores in the Dick’s NIT Season Tipoff.
“It was a great play by Rashad, a toughness play. It symbolized how tough we played all night,” Marshall said.
There was contact on the play, but it’s a call that’s rarely made in that situation, particularly for a road team. The officials conferred to confirm that Reed got his shot off (the buzzer went off at the conclusion of the play) and said that he did.
“It’s their home-court, I didn’t think I was going to get the call. I was really just trying to make the shot, I wasn’t expecting the call,” Reed said.
ISU coach Kevin McKenna said it was the right call.
“There was a lot of contact, I thought the officials made the right call. Do the officials always call it in that situation? No. But there was contact and it was clearly a foul in my eyes,” McKenna said.
WKU coach Ken McDonald was disappointed, but philosophical.
“That’s a tough situation at the end where both guys are going for the ball and one guy had more momentum. Once that ball is up in the air that long, it’s anyone’s ball, McDonald said. “That’s a tough break at the end, but it shouldn’t have come to that. The game was lost for us in the first 39 minutes, 59 seconds, not the last point-six seconds.”
The play gave ISU a major lift, not only after it lost to Coastal Carolina on Monday, but because the Sycamores had controlled most of the game until WKU made a run in the final two minutes. ISU’s win ended WKU’s 15-game home-court winning streak.
“Our guys showed character and played tough throughout the game. We controlled the tempo of the game. I thought we made plays for each other better and competed on the glass against a tournament-tested team,” McKenna said.
ISU (4-2) built its lead thanks to a first half surge fueled by rebounding and their bench. Josh Crawford scored all six of his points in the first half and Aaron Carter fought hard on the boards as the Sycamores built a 35-21 halftime lead. ISU had a 23-14 rebounding edge at the break. WKU guard A.J. Slaughter, who averages 18.7 points per game, was held scoreless. WKU forward Sergio Kerusch, who averages 20.7, had two points.
ISU led by as much as 16 in the second half, and though WKU made a few runs in the last 10 minutes, a Marshall three-point play with 1:51 left, put ISU up 62-53 and seemingly put the Sycamores in good stead.
Not so. Slaughter, who left the game early in the second half with a head injury, took over for the Hilltoppers. He scored a circus layup with 1:38 left to cut ISU’s lead to seven and when Dwayne Lathan threw the ball away against WKU’s press, Tipping found Slaughter for a 3-pointer to make it 62-58 with 1:21 remaining. Slaughter scored all 20 of his points after his head injury.
WKU cut the deficit to 63-60 when Slaughter missed a game-tying 3-pointer with 27 seconds left. Lathan was eventually fouled, but missed a pair of free throws with 14.1 seconds left to keep the Hilltoppers alive.
Tipping, who played just nine minutes, found the ball in his hands when ISU wisely elected to close up on Slaughter. The freshman was several feet behind the 3-point stripe when he leaned around an ISU defender and fired off a shot that found nothing but net. Diddle Arena exploded as WKU had wiped out its deficit to tie the game, but the mood went from joyous delirium to rage after the Marshall-to-Reed game-winning connection played out.
ISU went 2-2 in the Preseason NIT. The Sycamores complete a span of seven games in 16 days when they travel to Arkansas State on Sunday.
Indiana State 64
min fg 3pt ft r a pf pt
Lathan 20 5-8 2-3 3-6 5 0 4 15
Kelly 35 2-6 0-3 5-6 5 0 4 9
Leitnaker 17 0-1 0-0 0-0 3 0 3 0
Reed 25 3-10 0-4 3-4 4 5 2 9
Marshall 28 3-5 0-1 1-1 4 0 3 7
Doluony 20 2-7 1-4 2-2 3 0 0 7
Crawford 23 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 1 1 6
Printy 12 3-6 1-4 0-0 3 1 0 7
Carter 20 1-3 0-0 2-2 2 1 1 4
Totals 22-50 4-19 16-21 38* 8 18 64
Western Kentucky 63
min fg 3pt ft r a pf pt
Kerusch 31 1-8 1-5 0-0 2 2 2 3
Pettigrew 31 5-13 0-1 3-4 8 0 2 13
Evans 28 2-7 0-0 1-3 7 0 4 5
Slaughter 35 7-16 4-10 2-3 5 2 2 20
Sally 22 3-6 0-3 1-2 5 2 3 7
Dixon 14 1-2 0-1 0-1 4 0 2 2
Dickerson 18 1-3 1-2 0-0 3 1 1 3
Tipping 9 2-2 2-2 0-0 0 1 1 3
Crook 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Milosevic 7 2-2 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 4
Totals 24-60 8-24 7-15 34* 9 17 63
Halftime score — ISU 35, WKU 21. FG Pct. — ISU .440; WKU .400; 3P Pct. — ISU .211; WKU .333; FT Pct. — ISU .762; WKU .467. Steals — ISU 6 (Reed 3); WKU 4 (Tipping 2). Blocks — ISU 2 (Crawford 2), WKU 1 (Evans). Turnovers — ISU 16 (Lathan 3, Kelly 3, Reed 3), WKU 11 (Sally 5). Team rebounds* — ISU 3, WKU 0. A — 2269.
Next — ISU (4-2) will play at Arkansas State on Sunday. WKU (2-2) will play at South Carolina on Dec. 2.
College
Miracle play lifts Indiana State men to victory in stunner
Reed converts free throw with 0.1 remaining to end WKU home winning streak
- College
-
-
A time for firsts: SMWC seniors have national title aspirations
Even though St. Mary-of-the-Woods College has won eight national titles in softball in the last 16 years, seniors Sara Goelz and Jessica Jonas are among the many current Woods players who have not been part of a national championship team.
-
Win over SIU puts Sycamores in first place
As Indiana State’s baseball team tried to climb to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference mountain on Saturday against Southern Illinois, it stood to reason that the air would get more rarefied as they neared the summit.
-
Major Clay takes fourth straight MVC high jump title
For the fourth straight year, Indiana State’s Major Clay will climb to the top spot on the awards podium as the Sycamore captured his fourth high jump championship at the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday.
The competition was conducted at Cessna Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University. -
Edgewood takes Western Indiana Conference golf crown
Edgewood and senior Jackson Cowden took top honors in the Western Indiana Conference boys golf championship played Saturday at Idle Creek.
-
North grad wins 10,000 at Big Ten Championships
Terre Haute North alumnus Zach Mayhew ran a Dan McClimon track record at the University of Wisconsin to win the 10,000 meters at the Big Ten Championships.
-
Top-seeded Rose-Hulman falls in opener of HCAC Tournament
A couple of Rose-Hulman streaks came to an end Thursday night in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball tournament action, but the home-team jinx looks to be still alive.
-
ISU's Ort getting hot at right time for Sycamores
Indiana State’s baseball game notes list game-by-game performance for each Sycamore batter. It lists them box score-style: at-bats, runs, hits and RBI.
-
Terre Haute native getting national attention as freshman for Kentucky
On a day where Terre Haute native A.J. Reed returned home to continue his college career, he got plenty of time to be on-stage.
-
Top seed, home field doesn’t guarantee Rose success
On the surface, serving as host for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball tournament would appear to benefit Rose-Hulman’s No. 1-seeded team, which finished the regular season 27-12 overall and 18-6 in the conference.
-
Metro roundup: ISU’s Lucas honored by Missouri Valley again
For the fifth time in the last nine weeks, Indiana State junior catcher Jeremy Lucas has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week.
-
Sycamores top Shockers in 10 innings in MVC series opener
If free baseball is what you want, Indiana State has what you need. For the sixth time in the span of a month, ISU’s series opener went extra innings.
- METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball team takes first game of doubleheader
-
ISU starting pitchers in rhythm heading into Wichita State series
“Gettting into rhythm” is such an oft-used cliché in sports that it’s hard to hear the term and fight the urge to not let it enter one ear and escape another.
-
ISU goes to well too many times
Perhaps the most unnecessary pursuit for a Wabash Valley sports fan during the now-completed weekend was watching the first few innings of nonconference college baseball between Indiana State and visiting Nebraska-Omaha.
-
ISU baseball living on the edge
Indiana State’s baseball team got its game against Nebraska-Omaha in Saturday between morning and evening rain showers. But in the wake of another walk-off 3-2 victory against the struggling Mavericks, one might be forgiven if they felt the Sycamores are walking between the raindrops a bit.
-
PREP ROUNDUP: North Central baseball improves to 10-2
North Central lost a 7-1 game to Vincennes Rivet, and then Nolan Kinnett pitched the Thunderbirds to victory, adding a double and three RBIs against Riverton Parke in a pair of high school baseball games on Saturday.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: Jenkins, Goatee win inaugural Rush the Punter 5K
Steve Jenkins and TaPring Goatee were the 5K winners in the inaugural Rush the Punter event on Saturday at Fairbanks Park.
-
Providing perspective: ISU’s vets have 2009 as window into 2012
Indiana State’s baseball team has reached dizzying heights, but if the Sycamores have any trouble keeping their feet on the ground, they can turn to three teammates who can remind them how dangerous it can be to get complacent.
-
Missouri State wins MVC golf championship as expected
Missouri State was a unanimous pick to win the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championship, the pollsters citing their experience with four upperclassmen.
-
Uphill Battle: ISU 23 strokes back of MVC leader No. Iowa
Indiana State maintained sixth place after two rounds of the Missouri Valley Conference Golf Championships, but the Sycamores face a tough challenge to move into the top half of the league after today’s final round at the Country Club of Terre Haute.
-
Enter Cummings, exit McWhorter
All it took was a stat sheet to show Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing the glaring need the Sycamores had as they built their 2013 team.
-
TH golf community steps up for ISU
The Terre Haute golf community and the Indiana State women’s golf program can be a thriving partnership, and this week’s Missouri Valley Golf Championships have put that potential on display.
-
ISU blue after football scrimmage
One of Indiana State football coach Trent Miles’ stated goals for Saturday’s Blue-White spring football scrimmage was to get through the game unaffected by injuries.
As the 12-minute running clock ticked down — one of the concessions made by the football staff to speed the scrimmage up and get players off the field unscathed — it appeared ISU would make it through its spring game more-or-less unscathed.
But on the last play of the scrimmage, disaster struck. -
Hosting Missouri Valley Conference meet, ISU golf heading in right direction under Towne
It’s been a loooooong time in the making.
When the Indiana State women’s golf program was resurrected in 2005, it had already been on a 28-year hiatus. Since then, the Sycamores have enjoyed modest success, but have not hosted a golf match or invitational.
That changes beginning today — in a big way. -
ISU golfers step up after injury sidelines top player
Indiana State will be missing its best player, junior Reece Feducia, in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championships at the Country Club of Terre Haute from today through Tuesday.
Feducia was the team’s medalist in their first five tournaments of the fall season, but is still recovering from complications due to gall bladder surgery. She was all-MVC a year ago, finishing tied for third in last year’s MVC tournament. -
Walterhouse blast keys ISU to victory vs. Dallas Baptist
Ryan Walterhouse couldn’t have picked a better time to get a pleasant surprise.
The Indiana State senior lofted what looked like a routine towering fly to right field with two out in the bottom of the first inning Saturday at Bob Warn Field only to see it disappear — maybe a yard fair, possibly less than that beyond the fence — for a three-run homer that was the big blow in the Sycamores’ 6-3, series-tying victory over Dallas Baptist. -
ISU baseball drops weekend series opener to DBU
Indiana State and Dallas Baptist are playing this weekend at Warn Field for the opportunity to position themselves for a NCAA baseball tournament at-large bid.
The first statement was made by the visiting Patriots. - ISU football hopes to survive as well as evaluate
-
METRO ROUNDUP: ISU's Padgett breaks school record in 10,000 meters
Indiana State senior Craig Padgett broke a five-year-old school record in the 10,000 meters late Thursday night and junior Albaro Escalera ran the third fastest 10,000 meters in school history at Hilmer Lodge Stadium during the 54th Mt. SAC Relays.
-
Padgett breaks ISU track record in 10K
Indiana State's Craig Padgett ran a time of 29 minutes, 38.70 seconds to set a new school record in the 10,000-meter run.
- More College Headlines
-




