VIDEO: Sycamore stress test: ISU survives Southern Illinois

Indiana State University

Related Photos

Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Having a hand in it: Indiana State's Khristian Smith and Dawon Cummings defend Southern Illinois' Anthony Beane, Jr., as he shoots during the Sycamores' 66-65 win Saturday at Hulman Center.
Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza From the corner: Indiana State's R.J. Mahurin shoots over a Southern Illinois defender to tie the game at 45 during the Sycamores' 66-65 win Saturday at Hulman Center.
Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Holding his ground: Indiana State's R.J. Mahurin maintains his position as Southern Illinois' Dantiel Daniels tries to work his way in towards the basket during the Sycamores' win Saturday at Hulman Center.
Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Game winner: Indiana State's Jake Odum puts up the game-winning basket over Southern Illinois' Desmar Jackson during the Sycamores' 66-65 win Saturday at Hulman Center.

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable as well as posts that are attacking other users. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.

comments powered by Disqus

February 10, 2013

VIDEO: Sycamore stress test: ISU survives Southern Illinois

Despite close shave, Sycamores in first place in MVC

Todd Golden The Tribune-Star The Tribune Star Sun Feb 10, 2013, 06:39 AM EST

TERRE HAUTE —

Comes the hour, comes the man.

Indiana State needed some good men. Because come the 1 p.m. hour against Southern Illinois on Saturday, came the snooze bar for the Sycamores.

The Sycamores started flat – down by 12 four-minutes-into-the-game level of flat – and needed some heroes to infuse the energy needed to keep their Missouri Valley Conference title hopes alive.

Comes the hour, came Khristian Smith. Later, it was R.J. Mahurin. And then, on ISU’s last possession, who else but Jake Odum?

All three played a role in a 66-65 win for ISU as Odum hit a game-winning layup with 19 seconds left. A win is a win, but it was a result that felt more like survival than a victory.

“They came out and knocked us in the mouth. It’s a credit to our guys that we hung in there, but didn’t necessarily deserve to win that one today,” Odum said.

Mahurin led ISU (16-8, 9-4) with 16 points and was 5-for-7 from 3-point range. Odum had 13. Smith had 12, all scored in the first half.

ISU only led for 2 minutes, 54 seconds of game-time against the league’s last-place team. ISU led the 40th minute that matters, not that it made the Sycamores feel much better about it.

“We have a tough time with [SIU]. They handed it to us down there and did the same thing here. The only reason we won today is we were at home and our fans helped us get through. I commend Southern Illinois. We didn’t deserve to win, they did,” ISU coach Greg Lansing said.

Despite the close shave, the day got a whole lot better for the Sycamores at the crack of midnight. Illinois State defeated Creighton 75-72. Creighton's loss lifted the Sycamores and Wichita State into a three-way tie for first place in the MVC. ISU currently have the tiebreaker edge over both the Bluejays and Shockers.

As they did in a 76-71 victory in Carbondale, Ill. on Jan. 12, SIU’s drivers gave the Sycamores fits. Freshman Jalen Pendleton was chief among them. He had 17 points. One of his few misses was SIU’s final shot at the buzzer. SIU’s Desmar Jackson added 16 for the Salukis.

“We should’ve won the ball game,” SIU coach Barry Hinson said. “I know we’re the doormat, but no one scares me in the league … we scare us. I don’t think we’re as bad as what everyone thinks we are.”

The game began to creep in ISU’s direction with 5:34 left. Down 55-49, Mahurin conjured his sixth-career four-point play to cut SIU’s lead to two. It was a play that came seemingly out of nowhere and one that ISU badly needed.

Though SIU answered with points on its three possessions, Mahurin’s shot tightened the gap at a crucial moment.

When Dawon Cummings missed a free throw with 3:13 left – ISU made just 10 of 18 in the second half and 60 percent overall – it paradoxically worked in the Sycamores’ favor. ISU tracked down the rebound and Odum tied the game with a runner at 3:05 to make it 59-all.

But finishing the Salukis off was never going to be easy. After Kendal Brown-Surles hit a 3-pointer at 2:35, Mahurin drained a 3-pointer from the corner to tie it again. ISU got over the top to take a 64-62 on a pair of Odum free throws with 1:30 left.

But the Salukis had no quit in them. Pendleton converted a traditional three-point play with 1:09 left to put SIU back up 65-64. And when Mahurin missed a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left, it appeared the Salukis held the better winning hand.

But Mahurin kept his wits. When SIU’s Anthony Beane Jr. drove the lane with 35.9 seconds left, Mahurin stood his ground and drew a charge that gave ISU the ball back without having to foul.

“I had just air-balled a 3-pointer, so I felt I had to come back and make a big hustle play,” Mahurin said.

Though ISU could have played for the late shot, it didn’t want to take that risk. Once the ball got into Odum’s hands, he made no mistake, he drove the right side of the lane and converted a contested layup with 19 seconds left to put ISU up one.

“I asked Lou [Gudino, ISU Associate Head Coach] in the last timeout, ‘Should we go for the last [shot]?’ I just wanted it to be over with. We felt we were better on defense than we had been earlier in the game, so we felt comfortable guarding them,” Lansing said.

Hinson felt aggrieved on its last SIU possession. Jackson lost the ball near the top of the key with 10 seconds left and Hinson felt there was contact by Manny Arop during the scramble. Jackson recovered the ball and got it to Pendleton on the baseline. His shot bounced harmlessly off the rim and ISU escaped.

“It was a heckuva last play. I don’t know if you saw the one I’m talking about? Where Des [Jackson] got pummeled at half-court?” said an animated Hinson. “… Gets the fire knocked out of him on the ground. It was a heckuva play. That’s my sarcastic way of saying I didn’t agree with that.”

Hinson also lamented SIU’s missed free throws. The Salukis were 9 of 20 in the second half and shot 57.7 percent overall.

ISU put itself in a hole from jump. It would be hard to conceive a flatter start for ISU. The Sycamores, who had five turnovers total in Wednesday’s win over Creighton, had reached the mark by the 14-minute mark in the first half.

Defensive intensity was absent and the focused Salukis made the off-kilter Sycamores pay. SIU led 13-1 before the first media timeout.

Smith answered ISU’s distress call and got the Sycamores settled. Smith scored eight points of ISU’s points in a 15-7 run that helped cut ISU’s deficit to 20-16 with 8:23 left in the half.

“I felt the energy wasn’t there, so I felt I just had to go and do it,” Smith said.

ISU starters began to awaken, an 8-2 run tied the game with five minutes left in the half. ISU took the lead on a Smith layup at 2:44, but SIU finished the half on a 7-2 run to lead 34-31 at halftime.

Though ISU seemed to have the momentum entering the second half, it quickly squandered it. The Salukis started the half on a 9-2 run to restore their double-digit advantage. A mid-half 10-0 run briefly gave ISU the lead, but SIU responded with a 10-3 run to take a six-point lead by the time of Mahurin’s four-point play.

ISU plays its next two games on the road, starting with Missouri State on Tuesday. It knows an effort like Saturday’s won’t cut if they want to remain in the MVC race and in NCAA Tournament consideration.

“If you want to contend for a championship, you can’t play like we did today. We didn’t get better today. Southern Illinois had a lot to do with it,” Lansing said.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (65) – Daniels 4-9 4-9 12, Brown-Surles 1-4 0-0 3, Jackson 4-7 7-12 16, Lindsay 1-5 0-1 2, Early 1-2 0-0 2, Pendleton 6-9 4-4 17, Drinkard 0-0 0-0 0, Long 1-2 0-0 3, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Beane 4-7 0-0 10. 22-45 FG, 15-26 FT, 65 TP.

INDIANA STATE (66) – Arop 1-7 4-4 6, Mahurin 5-7 1-1 16, Gant 2-5 0-0 4, Brown 0-2 3-6 3, Odum 4-7 5-7 13, Kitchell 2-2 1-2 5, Eitel 1-4 0-0 3, Cummings 1-5 1-2 4, K. Smith 6-8 0-3 12. 22-47 FG, 15-25 FT, 66 TP.

Halftime score – SIU 34-31. 3-point goals – SIU 6-13 (Beane 2-2, Brown-Surles 1-3, Jackson 1-3, Long 1-2, Pendleton 1-1, Lindsay 0-2), ISU 7-18 (Mahurin 5-7, Eitel 1-4, Cummings 1-2, Arop 0-4). Rebounds – SIU 32 (Jackson 7, Pendleton 7, Daniels 6, Brown-Surles 3, Lindsay 2, Early 2, Team 2, Drinkard, Taylor, Beane), ISU 30 (Cummings 8, K. Smith 6, Arop 4, Gant 4, Kitchell 3, Team 3, Mahurin, Brown), Assists – SIU 12 (Brown-Surles 5, Daniels 3, Jackson 2, Lindsay, Pendleton), ISU 16 (Odum 5, Eitel 3, Arop 2, Brown 2, K. Smith 2, Kitchell, Cummings), Steals – SIU 7 (Jackson 2, Beane 2, Brown-Surles, Lindsay, Pendleton), ISU 8 (Odum 4, Kitchell 2, Brown), Blocks – SIU 2 (Daniels, Drinkard), ISU 7 (Mahurin 3, Odum 2, Gant, K. Smith), Turnovers – SIU 14 (Daniels 3, Jackson 3, Beane 3, Brown-Surles 2, Early, Pendleton, Drinkard), ISU 12 (Mahurin 3, K. Smith 3, Brown 2, Arop, Gant, Odum, Cummings), Total fouls – SIU 22, ISU 18. Fouled out – Beane. A – 5821.

Next – ISU (16-8, 9-4) plays at Missouri State on Tuesday. SIU (9-15, 2-11) plays host to Evansville on Wednesday.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Indiana State University

ISU baseball hoping Manaea can get its MVC Tournament moving in right direction
Indiana State’s baseball team has been waiting all season for its stars to align.
But this is the 2013 Sycamores, after all, and after a season in which seemingly little has gone right, it appears its stars will remain crossed at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

May 20, 2013 1 Photo
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.

May 19, 2013 9 Photos 2 Links
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.

May 19, 2013
Bradley ends 16-game MVC losing streak against ISU
Momentum was the only thing riding on Indiana State’s baseball game against Bradley on Friday. With a five-game winning streak going, ISU wanted to keep the good vibes going into next week’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
ISU couldn’t do it.

May 18, 2013
Indiana State to host 2014 MVC baseball tourney
Build it… and they will come. The Missouri Valley Conference and Indiana State University made that famous line from the movie “Fields Of Dreams” reality Thursday.

May 17, 2013
Behind 16 hits and Manaea's pitching, ISU beats Bradley
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.

May 17, 2013 1 Photo
TODD GOLDEN: Don't give up on ISU baseball just yet
If you had to pick one word that would describe the 2013 Indiana State baseball season, it would have to be frustration.

May 16, 2013
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.

May 12, 2013
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.

May 11, 2013 1 Photo
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.

May 11, 2013
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.

May 10, 2013 1 Photo
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.
The Sycamores have filled in most of the blanks in their nonconference schedule, but as ever, ISU coach Greg Lansing would like to visit the friendly confines of Hulman Center a bit more often.

May 3, 2013
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.

May 2, 2013 2 Photos
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.

May 2, 2013
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.

April 26, 2013
ISU, MVFC brace for change at FCS football level
It seemed so far-fetched.

Internet rumors circulated that Indiana State had been approached by the Sun Belt Conference to bring the Sycamores’ football team into the Sun Belt’s fold.

The Sun Belt is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Bowl football. Big boy football … and all it entails.

April 21, 2013
ISU football in good spirits after healthy Spring Game
Was Saturday afternoon’s weather an omen for Indiana State football as the Sycamores wrapped up spring practice with the annual Blue-White Game at Memorial Stadium? After several practices conducted in less-than-perfect conditions, they’d like to think so.

April 21, 2013
Loyola ready to take big step
Loyola University and the Missouri Valley Conference took their first steps together Friday and the MVC is hoping the Ramblers don’t have to take too many baby steps before they become a competitive part of the conference.

April 20, 2013 1 Photo
Sanford wraps up first spring with ISU
The final day of Indiana State football’s first Mike Sanford experience is upon the Sycamores.

April 20, 2013
Lansing excited about Etherington's signing with Sycamores
The spring signing period for men’s basketball is usually a time to use available scholarships to load up on junior college additions and transfers.
To find a diamond-in-the-rough at the high school level who can give you four years? That’s harder to come by.

April 18, 2013 1 Photo
Creighton sweep puts ISU in thick of things
In a difficult early-season Missouri Valley Conference schedule, Indiana State took its lumps. Unenviable back-to-back trips to contenders Missouri State and Wichita State had ISU reeling with five straight MVC losses eight days ago.

April 15, 2013
Second City in the Valley: Loyola joins the MVC
For the first time in its history, the Missouri Valley Conference will have a home in the Second City.
The Chicago Tribune confirmed Saturday via a Loyola University source that the Ramblers will replace Creighton as the MVC’s 10th team. Loyola — a member of the Horizon League — will join the MVC effective July 1.
Indiana State Director of Athletics Ron Prettyman — who was part of the MVC search committee that scouted potential replacements for Creighton — confirmed Sunday that the Ramblers were in the MVC loop.

April 14, 2013
Sycamore baseball holds off Creighton rally
By his own estimation, Indiana State baseball coach Rick Heller has been involved in close to 2,000 baseball games. If anyone has seen it all on the field, he’d be as good a candidate as any.

April 14, 2013
Devin Moore pitches gem in 6-1 victory over Creighton
A hip injury suffered by Indiana State ace starting pitcher Sean Manaea shuffled the Sycamores’ starting rotation for the second weekend running as it opened a Missouri Valley Conference home series against Creighton on Friday.

April 13, 2013 3 Photos
Sanford gets 2nd look at Sycamores
In the immediate aftermath of a practice, game, or in Friday’s case for Indiana State, a scrimmage, most football coaches defer to the film to paint a true picture of what was and wasn’t done. ISU coach Mike Sanford is no different. With the flurry of activity on both sides of the ball, it’s hard to get a true evaluation of anything watching it live.

April 13, 2013
ISU center FN Lutz glad to be back in the middle of things
For someone who missed an entire season due to a knee injury, Indiana State center FN Lutz has certainly kept himself visible since then.

April 12, 2013 2 Photos
METRO ROUNDUP: ISU's Brandon Pounds the top collegian in Sea Ray relays
Indiana State senior Brandon Pounds was the top collegian in the men’s hammer throw and fellow senior Felisha Johnson opened up the Sycamores’ three-day competition at the University of Tennessee’s Sea Ray relays with a second-place finish in the women’s hammer throw.

April 11, 2013
Stealing records: ISU softball’s offense gaining momentum
The Indiana State softball offense is no juggernaut, but the fog may be clearing on a program that has had a long history of struggles with few signs of consistent winning.
Explosive, dedicated athletes like Morgan Allee and Megan Stone are two reasons to believe this group of Sycamores can spark a turnaround.
The Sycamores are scoring an average of 3.1 runs per game while also ranking in the middle of the Missouri Valley Conference pack in hits and batting average. But the Sycamores are on pace to break the school record for on-base percentage as they lead the MVC in walks, hit-by-pitches, sacrifice bunts and stolen bases.
Allee, with 17 regular-season games to go, broke the school record for stolen bases in a season Tuesday against IUPUI and is among the 10 best in the NCAA. Her total of 30 makes up almost half of ISU’s 74.
“I’m so big [that] they think I won’t go. It works out well,” the stocky shortstop said.

April 11, 2013 5 Photos
ISU’s QB battle
Quarterback battles come in all shapes and sizes, but one could forgive Indiana State’s Mike Perish, Robert Tonyan Jr. and Trent Lancaster if they feel a bit more beleaguered than your average signal-caller.
Not only is the trio fighting for the right to be named ISU’s starter by the Sycamores’ football opener Aug. 29 at Indiana University, but all three also are trying to learn a new offense, they’re acclimating themselves to new coach Mike Sanford’s different way of running things, and they’re trying to maintain harmony amongst each other, so whoever the ultimate winner is can effectively lead the team without angst.
All of it is playing out during ISU’s spring practice, and so far, none of the quarterback candidates have separated themselves from the pack.

April 10, 2013 4 Photos
Sycamores wrap up season sweep of Purdue in baseball
Jordan Pearson went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and all nine position starters for the Indiana State baseball team recorded at least one hit, leading the Sycamores to a 10-5 victory and a season sweep of Purdue in front of 679 fans Tuesday at Bob Warn Field.
ISU claimed its second consecutive game and improved to 14-13 overall, while Purdue dropped to 11-19. The Sycamores are 4-1 against the Big Ten Conference this season after sweeping their two-game series with the Boilermakers and winning two out of three at Minnesota in mid-March.
ISU and Purdue combined for nine runs over the first three innings as the Sycamores took a 5-4 lead. Pearson (single), Mike Fitzgerald (single), Tyler Wampler (one-run single), Landon Curry (single) and Cody Zimmerman (two-run single) tallied five consecutive hits with one out in the bottom of the second inning as ISU scored four runs in the frame.

April 10, 2013
More Indiana State University Headlines

Latest News

UPDATE 4: Deadly tornado roars through Oklahoma City suburb Updated 5 hours ago 9 Photos
UPDATE: 5 killed, 6 injured in I-70 van crash in Illinois Updated 9 hours ago 1 Photo
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire Posted 14 hours ago 1 Photo
Tighter Indiana drunken driving law seems unlikely Posted 15 hours ago
Vigo County Jail Log: May 20, 2013 Posted 16 hours ago
Portion of Ohio Street closed until 2 p.m. today Posted 16 hours ago
Update: Oklahoma, other tornado-hit states brace for more Updated 13 hours ago 1 Photo
10 Things to Know for Monday Posted 20 hours ago 1 Photo
RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: April 29-May 3 Updated 20 hours ago

Community Calendar

Loading…

Events by eviesays.com

TribStar.com Poll

AP Video

Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma

Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma

Raw: Fierce Bombing in Qusair, Syria

Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School

NDN Video

RAW: Moore, OK tornado touches down near school

Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble

Robert Pattinson Moves Out

RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air

Parade
Magazine
Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.