MUNCIE —
The Muncie misery is over. Indiana State’s men’s basketball was worthy at Worthen Arena at long last.
For the first time since Ronald Reagan was President — and since Ronald Greene was ISU’s head coach — the Sycamores defeated Ball State in its backyard. ISU had a happy bus ride home from Ball State for the first time since 1986 as it dominated the host Cardinals 68-48 on Tuesday.
The Sycamores (3-1) won their first game in 10 trips to Worthen Arena with a stifling defensive clampdown and a sublime performance by point guard Jake Odum.
Ball State (2-1) shot 32 percent from the field and had 14 turnovers. Ball State’s Jauwan Scaife and Majok Majok scored 31 of Ball State’s 48 points.
“Lou [Gudino, associate head coach] had the scout and he had them ready for everything they were going to do. These guys listened. We tried to take away the opponents strengths as much as possible, but we have to be aggressive. We have to be aggressive, we have to fly around and we did that tonight,” ISU coach Greg Lansing said.
On the other end, Odum had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Odum was aggressive as he took 13 shots, and on the occasions where Ball State was able to get a foothold, Odum was at his best. He had the knack for the timely answer off a drive or with an assist to a teammate.
While Odum wasn’t born the last time ISU won at Ball State, he has grim memories of ISU’s last trip to Worthen Arena. ISU had 26 turnovers in a 75-60 loss in 2010.
“When I here two years ago, we got whooped. It was embarrassing. Coming out tonight, I wore that on my sleeve. I wanted to represent Indiana State in a better way tonight,” Odum said.
Manny Arop had his first career double-double for ISU with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
R.J. Mahurin, whom ISU coaches feared would not play to due what they thought was a hyperextended knee, had 13 points. Mahurin was cleared by ISU’s doctors in the hours before Tuesday’s game.
ISU’s defense was impressive from tipoff. Ball State had no answer for ISU’s aggressiveness on ball-handlers and its ability to jump into passing lanes. Help defense was on time in the paint against Ball State big men Majok Majok and Zach Fields.
The result was a 1-of-8 start from the field and five Ball State turnovers by the 13-minute mark. ISU led 12-3 with a balanced attack that took advantage of Ball State’s late defending.
“We’re trying to find out roles defensively. We’re all buying in. Everybody guarded today. We wanted that first road victory and we came out and played hard,” said ISU guard Dawon Cummings, who guarded Ball State’s Jesse Berry and got Berry into early foul trouble.
ISU’s lead got to 22-11 before the Cardinals began to take advantage of second chances and foul trouble by ISU’s big men. But that’s also when Odum’s assertiveness on the offensive end was most valuable.
Ball State cut its deficit to seven, but Odum drew a foul to get two at the line and then converted a three-point play to restore ISU’s 11-point advantage. When Mahurin hit a pair of free throws with 5:08 left in the half, ISU’s lead peaked at 13.
Odum had 14 points at halftime.
“We saw on film how they guard pick-and-rolls. I just felt like I could set things up for myself and my team and that’s what we did. They were slacking off a bit on the ball screens. They were quite as high on the 3-point line,” Odum said.
The half ended appropriately. Ball State worked the shot clock down, but Scaife, who scored 12 of Ball State’s 24 first-half points, was forced to take an off-balance three at the death of the shot clock. ISU led 35-24 at the end of an impressive first half.
ISU started the second half slowly, with six empty possessions, but Ball State couldn’t take advantage. Sensing that it could take advantage of ISU’s lack of size in the paint, the Cardinals tried to get as many paint touches as possible and cut ISU’s lead to 10 with 9:16 left.
Even when the Cardinals’ plan to pound the paint worked, Ball State undermined itself with bad free throw shooting. The Cardinals made just 15 of 27 at the line — 47 percent in the second half — and missed the front end of three one-and-one opportunities.
ISU’s defense never let up and no one play better symbolized ISU’s ability to thwart Ball State than when Lucas Eitel and Cummings forced a shot clock violation with 6:35 left. ISU’s bench erupted, the most tangible example of the pride ISU took in its defense all night.
“Anytime you get a shot clock violation is tough. We pride ourselves on defense and that play put a statement on the game,” Cummings said.
ISU would pull away in the final eight minutes, closing the game on a 17-6 run.
ISU next plays host to High Point on Sunday. The Panthers play in the Big South Conference.
For video of the press conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rr27BCIAaU&feature=g-crec-u
Editor’s note: Photos were not delivered to the Tribune-Star by deadline.
College
ISU dominates Ball State in 68-48 men's basketball win
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ISU's athletic treasure trove
Think of every championship that Indiana State has won in each of its sports, past and present. Think of every tournament — postseason or regular season — which the Sycamores have claimed as their own.
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Ort sets ISU RBI record in 16-7 win
Robby Ort celebrated his Indiana State baseball Senior Day on Saturday by becoming the Sycamores’ all-time leader in RBIs as ISU ended its regular season with a 16-7 win over Bradley at Bob Warn Field.
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Bradley ends 16-game MVC losing streak against ISU
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ISU couldn’t do it. -
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Indiana State’s baseball team rode a wild ride of emotion on Thursday.
First came the public announcement that Bob Warn Field would host the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Later, Sean Manaea’s availability to pitch ISU’s series opener against Bradley was in doubt. -
Indiana State women add five transfers, including experienced D-I point guard
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Metro roundup: Woods softball takes seventh in national tournament
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ISU baseball team builds on success with 14-2 rout
Indiana State’s baseball victory over Alcorn State on Friday would take on more meaning Saturday if the Sycamores could build momentum and pick up on the good work they did in Friday’s ninth-inning rally.
Mission accomplished.
The Sycamores were aggressive from the opening inning at the plate and starting pitcher Devin Moore gave them eight valuable and effective innings on the mound as ISU defeated Alcorn State 14-2 at Bob Warn Field.
“It was a really good experience for everybody. It felt great to finally come out here and put some things together. It’s also really nice when your offense puts a lot of runs on the board,” Moore said.
Moore’s eight innings of work were as valuable as gold to an ISU team that is short on quality arms due to injury and ineffectiveness. He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and one of the two runs he conceded was unearned. -
Johnson, Lyke win MVC titles for ISU
Indiana State’s Felisha Johnson and Maurice Lyke were both crowned Missouri Valley Conference champions on Saturday during the MVC Track and Field Championships at Drake University.
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ISU earns badly-needed win
Alcorn State’s baseball team might be ranked in the bottom 10 in RPI and Indiana State might have never lost to a Southwestern Athletic Conference team. So it wouldn’t appear that a quality win was in the offing when Alcorn State visited Bob Warn Field on Friday.
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For the third time this season, Rose-Hulman senior Liz Evans topped the NCAA Division III all-time national record in the outdoor high jump Friday night.
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ISU’s Mascari and Hope win MVC track & field titles
Indiana State produced two champions during the opening day of action in the Missouri Valley Conference track and field championships Friday at Drake. Freshman John Mascari, a Terre Haute native, won the men’s 10,000-meter race and Nicole Hope won the women’s pole vault for the second time in three seasons.
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ISU pole vault tradition continues with help from its author
Pole vault is track and field for the adrenaline junkie, Indiana State senior Nicole Hope proclaimed during a recent practice at Marks Field.
To catapult oneself about 14 feet into the air with a large $500 fiberglass pole on a daily basis is a risky endeavor.
“We have to be fearless. You can’t be afraid at all,” said Hope, who has also catapulted herself into the NCAA’s elite in the event, ranking 15th in the NCAA with her leap of 13-feet, 9 1/4. -
Sycamores searching for answers after seventh loss in eight games
These are the bad times for the Indiana State baseball team.
The will is there for the Sycamores to pull out of their worst slump of the season, but the results are not. The suffering continued on Wednesday at Bob Warn Field as Eastern Illinois defeated ISU 5-3. -
METRO ROUNDUP: ISU men's track picked first in MVC Championships, women second
The Indiana State men’s track team has won the last two Missouri Valley Conference outdoor championships, but the women have not stood on the top podium since 1999.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman wins HCAC all-sports trophy
Rose-Hulman has won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s all-sports trophy for the fifth time in the past six year, the league announced Monday.
Rose tallied 66.5 points for its finishes in 11 men’s sports, just ahead of Franklin with 66. Hanover was third with 53 points. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman tennis falls in HCAC semifinal
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Manaea fights off bad hip, wet weather to toss four innings
Mother Nature has been the bane of the Indiana State baseball team’s existence all season. Eight games wiped due to weather are a testament to that. So it was no surprise, though no less disappointing, when she didn’t deal Indiana State pitcher Sean Manaea the greatest hand on Saturday as he tries to recover from a hip injury.
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ISU track enjoys big night at IU's Billy Hayes Invitational
The Indiana State Sycamores either won or finished as the top collegian in 12 events, led by the record-breaking performance of senior Brandon Pounds at the 2013 Billy Hayes Invitational Friday at Indiana University.
Pounds broke his own school record to win the men’s hammer throw. -
Lansing looking for more home games for next fall
Indiana State’s men’s basketball team is looking for a few good games.
Home games that is.
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Secret weapon: Kelsey Rosselli finishing Woods career with a bang
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So when one of its athletes enjoys an outstanding season, like senior Kelsey Rosselli is doing for the Pomeroys’ softball team in 2013, media publicity doesn’t always follow.
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Rosselli’s name might sound familiar to longtime Terre Haute softball followers because she was a standout for North High School, from where she graduated in 2009.
Since then, she’s helped The Woods finish runner-up in three straight U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national tournaments in 2010, 2011 and 2012. -
ISU baseball gets back into rhythm with victory
Baseball is a rhythm game. With contests every day or five times a week in the case of many college programs, you have the chance to build on success or wallow in a slump.
Mother Nature took that rhythm away from Indiana State’s team last week. After a 7-1 loss to Indiana on April 24, ISU was supposed to play a three-game series at Tennessee-Martin, but it was wiped out by rain.
So the rhythm was disturbed, but perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing.
ISU was in a five-game losing streak before its unintended vacation and the Sycamores made a move in the right direction Wednesday with a 7-0 win over DePauw at Bob Warn Field.
“It was a disappointing weekend. We went all the way down to Tennessee and didn’t get to play. We sat around in the hotel room. We came here and it was still raining. It was nice to get out and see some live pitching,” ISU center fielder Landon Curry said. -
Metro roundup: ISU hands out spring awards
The Indiana State University athletic community, along with family, friends and fans, paused Tuesday night to honor the spring sports teams at the Terre Haute Savings Bank Spring Sports Banquet.
Most of the ISU teams are still in competition with the baseball team having 13 games left of its regular-season schedule before beginning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament May 21, the softball team with just three games left of the docket this coming weekend against Southern Illinois and the track and field program with just one more meet before beginning its postseason events.
The ISU women’s golf team is the team that has ended at this time, with the group recording a sixth-place finish at the MVC championships one week ago. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball wins another thriller
Rose-Hulman earned its third victory in its last at-bat in the last five days with a 6-5 win over Franklin in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball Tuesday night at Art Nehf Field.
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ISU relay teams enjoy strong day at Drake Relays
It was a day for the relay teams to shine at the 104th Drake Relays Saturday as four of the five Indiana State relay teams that competed ran times that put the team among the top five in school history for their respective events.
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Indiana State baseball series canceled
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Indiana State loses 2 in MVC softball
Indiana State aspired to upset Illinois State to get at least a doubleheader split in Missouri Valley Conference softball Thursday at Price Field as the Sycamores opened an eight-game season-ending homestand.
Paige Schreiner hit a two-run blast over the left-field fence in the fifth inning and junior Shelby Wilson delivered a sizzling RBI triple down the right-field line in the sixth as ISU ended the day playing well against the league’s highest-scoring offense.
The result was still a 5-3 loss to the Redbirds (26-18, 11-6 Missouri Valley Conference) as freshman Halle Humphrey gave up four runs in the first two innings. Humphrey, called upon to pitch the opener as well — she’s the only full-time pitcher remaining on the team — gave up six runs and eight hits as the Sycamores dropped a 6-1 game to start the day. -
Sycamores fall: Slumping ISU drops 8-1 decision to No. 19-ranked IU
The margin in baseball between success and failure is so tight.
Indiana State learned that lesson the hard way against No. 19-ranked Indiana on Wednesday.
For most of the contest, ISU matched IU hit-for-hit, but couldn’t match the Hoosiers run-for-run as IU took maximum advantage of its baserunners to post an 8-1 victory at IU’s new Bart Kaufman Field.
IU — winners of four in a row and owners of a 19-game win streak earlier this season — proved its quality by putting the foot on the gas in the last three innings of the contest. The Hoosiers scored five of their runs in that period.
But up until that point, the game was in either team’s hands, but the Hoosiers took it with better situational hitting. IU’s first baserunners in three separate innings came around to score; two of them did so with two outs on the board. - More College Headlines
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