St. Louis — The Indiana State men’s basketball program waited nine long years to play a postseason game.
The wait to see how competitive the Sycamores would be in their postseason return didn’t take nearly as long.
Saint Louis dominated ISU from the opening tip and cruised to a 63-54 victory in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational at Chaifetz Arena on Tuesday.
The Sycamores’ season ended and the Billikens wasted no time greasing the Sycamores’ skids. SLU had a 10-point lead three minutes into the game and the Sycamores played catch-up the rest of the way, never really getting into a position where the Billikens felt threatened.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t play well early. We played better as we went along. We didn’t play our best, we missed our free throws, we didn’t come up with a lot of loose balls. To beat a team on the road, you have to do those things,” ISU coach Kevin McKenna said.
No Sycamores reached double-figure scoring as Rashad Reed, Dwayne Lathan, Koang Doluony, Isiah Martin and Aaron Carter all had eight points.
By contrast, SLU (21-11) rode Kwamain Mitchell (19 points) and big center Willie Reed (17 points, eight rebounds) as both players were tough for the Sycamores to contend with.
ISU (17-15) was behind the 8-ball from the opening tip. SLU began the game on an 11-1 run as the Billikens crispness on the offensive end was contrasted by the bewildered Sycamores. Excellent perimeter defense by the Billikens — notably from Mitchell — played a big part, but the Sycamores also appeared badly out of sync.
“It was one of those nights we had trouble with during the season where we were sluggish and we couldn’t get going,” Lathan said. “We were making mistakes and we compounded them with more mistakes. We just couldn’t get over that hump and find our rhythm.”
ISU scored on just nine of its first 29 possessions as the Billikens built a 32-14 lead. During that stretch, ISU shot 5 of 20 from the field and had eight turnovers. The Billikens converted the ISU giveaways into 11 points on its end to that point in the game. SLU eventually scored 23 points off ISU turnovers.
ISU’s woes weren’t limited to its inability to score. SLU’s Willie Reed dominated the paint as he had 13 points and four rebounds at halftime. At one point, SLU had a 16-2 edge with points in the paint. SLU finished with a 39-36 rebounding edge, but the Billikens scored 32 points in the paint.
ISU twice got its deficit to single-digits in the second half, but couldn’t get closer than eight points.
ISU finished its season 17-15, its best record since 2001. Reed, Josh Crawford and Harry Marshall (who was injured and didn’t play) saw their ISU careers come to an end.
“It’s not a real big step, but anything positive that comes to a team is a good thing. The three of us helped turn the program around. Next year I just hope the best for the guys. There’s good guys here and there’s good guys coming in. They should carry over to next year,” Reed said.
Indiana State University
CBI Tournament: ISU can’t get out of gate against SLU
Sycamores’ season ends in loss to Billikens
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Is this ball rolling? Can Sycamores keep finding their shooting stroke?
Can Indiana State expect any carryover from its record-setting shooting performance Saturday when the Sycamores resume Missouri Valley Conference play against Illinois State at 7:05 p.m. today in Hulman Center?
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Time for a pick-me-up
Indiana State’s magnificent 3-point shooting duo of Brittany Schoen and Anna Munn connected at crucial times Sunday in Hulman Center.
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Indiana State connects on all 12 of its 3-point shots vs. SIU and sets three NCAA records in process
When you’re a shooter and you’re in a slump, the boilerplate cure is to summon amnesia, forget about your struggles and keep on shooting.
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Perfect game: ISU shoots NCAA record 12-for-12 from 3-point range in win over SIU
Indiana State set an NCAA record for 3-point percentage and consecutive 3-pointers made Saturday afternoon in Hulman Center, connecting on all 12 attempts during a 78-68 win over Southern Illinois.
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‘Frustrated’ Sycamores regroup to face Southern Illinois
Indiana State’s men’s basketball struggles have hit one Sycamore senior hard.
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Thomas nets double-double as ISU women end losing streak
The halftime speech is one of the most time-worn clichés in sports, but once in a while, it’s meaningful. It certainly was for the Indiana State women’s basketball team on Friday against Bradley.
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Freezing in Peoria: Sycamores fall at last-place Bradley
When Indiana State’s men’s basketball team has excelled, it has done so via effort, concentration and grit as much as raw talent.
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MVC’s worst a tantalizing option for ISU
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Sycamores can’t slow down Stutz, Wichita State
All or nothing.
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Sycamores can’t stop Stutz, Shockers
All or nothing. It was that kind of game for Wichita State center Garrett Stutz. Unfortunately for Indiana State’s men’s basketball team, the “all” came in the second half.
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McWhorter’s fortunes rise with ISU’s
More so than any other Sycamore, Steve McWhorter might embody the decline and the recent rise of the Indiana State men’s basketball team.
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Johnson dominates again for ISU track
Felisha Johnson continued to dominate women’s weight throw while two Indiana State hurdlers moved into today’s finals after solid performances in the preliminaries Friday at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.
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Indiana State women lose at Illinois State
Playing short-handed again, Indiana State’s women suffered their sixth straight Missouri Valley Conference basketball loss Friday night, falling 78-67 to host Illinois State.
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ISU grinds out win
Drake’s men’s basketball played three overtimes on Saturday; Indiana State played two on Sunday.
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Sycamores introduce 27 football recruits
Christmas came a bit late, or quite early, depending on your point of reference, but 27 recruits were welcomed to the Indiana State football program on National Signing Day at Hulman Center on Wednesday.
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After 2 wins, Indiana State isn’t rolling quite yet
With a modest winning streak — two in a row would certainly qualify as modest — the Indiana State men’s basketball team would like to move on to momentum.
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It’s on: Sycamores, Bulldogs to play at Hinkle on Feb. 18
How badly did Indiana State want to get Butler as its BracketBusters opponent?
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Sycamores need 2 overtimes to claim win at Evansville
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Schoen scores 1,000th point in ISU loss
Brittany Schoen scored a game-high 20 points Sunday, becoming the 24th Indiana State women’s basketball player to reach the 1,000-point career mark, but host Wichita State pulled away in the final minutes for a 74-63 win over the Sycamores in Koch Arena.
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Sycamores will have to match Aces’ toughness
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.
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Mattox’s 31 not enough for ISU women
Indiana State pulled within 63-57 with a 6-0 run with 8 minutes, 50 seconds remaining Friday night at JQH Arena, but the Sycamores lost 84-70 to host Missouri State in a Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball game.
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VICTORY! Sycamores shake losing streak against UNI
With 4 minutes, 20 seconds to go, Indiana State’s men’s basketball led by 10 points and seemed to be on their way to a comfortable victory over Northern Iowa.
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ISU not without options at quarterback
With the graduation of Ronnie Fouch, Indiana State coach Trent Miles has a big hole to fill at quarterback for the 2012 season.
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MVC play-in round a stronger possibility for ISU
If you’re familiar with the Beetle Bailey comic strip, a classic scene depicts Sarge hanging from a branch growing out of the side of a cliff with Beetle looking down from above.
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TILL IT'S OVER: Mahan’s emergence comes at a good time
In the preseason of her second year, Indiana State women’s basketball coach Teri Moren spoke with excitement about having more “pieces” to fit together for a winning puzzle.
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Halfway to ninth: No. 18 Creighton blows out ISU
The defensive job the Indiana State men’s basketball team did on Creighton super sophomore Doug McDermott might be the envy of the Missouri Valley Conference.
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TODD GOLDEN: Indiana State men caught between expectation, reality
The Missouri Valley Conference is hush-hush on how it puts together its matchups for the annual conference schedule.
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ISU women focusing on turnovers today
The ISU women will be concentrating on hanging on to the ball today against Drake in Hulman Center.
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ISU women nipped at buzzer
Creighton sophomore Carli Tritz — blanketed by Indiana State senior Brittany Schoen — had just two points at halftime Friday in Hulman Center.
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ISU needs to find chip on its shoulder
When one looks back at the totality of Indiana State’s 2010-11 men’s basketball season, there’s a recurrent theme that tied together the high points in a 20-14 campaign. A recurrent theme that might give ISU a lifeline in what has been a disappointing 2012 season.
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