TERRE HAUTE —
Drake’s men’s basketball played three overtimes on Saturday; Indiana State played two on Sunday.
As the second half progressed in their matchup Wednesday at Hulman Center, both teams looked every bit the worse for wear.
In a game that was rarely more than a possession one way or another for much of the half, the team that scrounged up some energy to defeat fatigue would win.
The Sycamores managed to summon some inner fuel down the stretch and earned a 61-54 victory. It was ISU’s third in a row as the Sycamores have built up a head of steam to get out of the 2-7 hole they dug themselves to start the Missouri Valley Conference season.
“It was a gutsy performance. They made a run at us, but our guys stepped right back up and continued to compete.
We’re playing smarter. Our periods of poor play are not as long,” ISU coach Greg Lansing said.
Dwayne Lathan led ISU with 15 points. Jake Odum was assertive from the start of the game from a scoring standpoint and had 14 points.
Drake’s Rayvonte Rice had a game-high 17 points and Ben Simons had 13. Both players are capable of carrying the Bulldogs, but ISU mostly held both players in check as they combined to shoot 12 of 31 from the field. Karl Madison, who scored a career-high 24 in the first meeting, was held scoreless.
Overall, Drake made just 33.3 percent of its shots. In its 79-64 win on Dec. 28, Drake shot 56.4 percent.
“We’re a lot better team than we were when we played up there. Whenever you get beat by a team, you went to feel like we owe them. We didn’t play our best there. We wanted to come out and knock them in the mouth early and take the game,” Odum said.
ISU set the tone from the first possession of the game. Penetrating Drake’s defense, the Sycamores got good medium-range looks. ISU used the penetration to draw Drake defenders and kick it inside for easy layups. Odum got himself involved in most of it, scoring via a layup and a pair of 14-foot jumpers to stake the Sycamores to an 8-2 lead.
“Coach was on us about attacking the paint. They didn’t take too many charges tonight and left the lane open for us to get some good shots,” Odum said.
Drake, meanwhile, couldn’t hit anything. The Bulldogs started the game by missing 14 of its first 18 shots. ISU would continue to find open spots in Drake’s defense, building a 26-15 lead. The Sycamores would outscore Drake in the paint 24-4 in the first half.
The Bulldogs (13-10, 6-6) crept closer as the first half closed. ISU left Ben Simons open for a pair of 3-pointers and Drake cut its deficit to three with 2:51 left in the half. ISU would settle for a 32-26 halftime advantage.
ISU had a momentary lapse to start the second half as 6-0 run briefly put the Bulldogs in front. ISU resumed the lead via a Carl Richard 3-pointer and a Lathan layup with just under 15 minutes left.
From that point, both teams ground their way to the finish. It was tied 47 with 7:55 left and it was an open question as to which team would be able to find the inner strength to get the W.
ISU answered with defense. Drake would be held without a field goal for 8 minutes, 17 seconds. Drake would defend well too, but an Odum three-footer with 3:59 left and a contested Lathan layup with 2:09 left gave ISU a 53-48 gap.
Drake’s poor free throw shooting – the Bulldogs made 5 of 11 in the second half and 11 of 20 overall – caught up with the Bulldogs down the stretch. ISU had no free throw worries. Though Drake closed the gap to 57-54 with 33 seconds left, ISU made its final 10 free throws of the game to seal the deal.
“I give Indiana State a lot of credit on the defensive end. They don’t get any credit for our bad free throw shooting. We take all the credit for that,” Drake coach Mark Phelps said.
ISU (14-9, 5-7) next plays at Wichita State on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. Saturday.
DRAKE (54) — Clarke 0-4 2-4 2, Jeffers 2-3 3-4 8, Simons 5-15 1-1 13, Madison 0-1 0-0 0, Rice 7-16 2-5 17, Hawley 2-5 0-0 6, Alexander 1-8 3-4 6, Woods 1-2 0-2 2. 18-54 FG, 11-20 FT, 54 TP.
INDIANA STATE (61) — Richard 2-6 0-1 5, Walker 2-5 0-1 4, Odum 6-9 2-2 14, Lathan 4-9 7-7 15, Printy 0-4 0-0 0, Eitel 1-4 4-4 6, Gant 0-2 0-0 0, McWhorter 4-4 1-2 9, Mahurin 3-6 1-1 8. 22-49 FG, 15-18 FT, 61 TP.
Halftime score — ISU 32-26. 3-point goals — Drake 7-20 (Simons 2-7, Hawley 2-4, Rice 1-4, Jeffers 1-2, Alexander 1-2, Madison 0-1), ISU 2-14 (Mahurin 1-4, Richard 1-2, Lathan 0-3, Printy 0-2, Eitel 0-2, Gant 0-1). Rebounds — Drake 32* (Woods 6, Jeffers 5, Clarke 4, Simons 4, Alexander 4, Madison 2, Team RB 2*, Hawley), ISU 37* (Odum 7, Lathan 6, Richard 5, McWhorter 4, Mahurin 3, Walker 3, Team RB 3*, Printy 2, Eitel 2, Gant 2), Assists — Drake 12 (Rice 5, Simons 2, Madison 2, Alexander 2, Jeffers), ISU 12 (Lathan 4, Odum 3, Walker 2, Printy, McWhorter, Mahurin), Steals — Drake 7 (Simons 3, Rice 2, Alexander), ISU 3 (Richard, Lathan, Eitel), Blocks — Drake 2 (Rice, Woods), ISU 4 (Walker 2, Odum, Gant), Turnovers — Drake 8 (Rice 3), ISU 12 (McWhorter 5, Walker 2, Odum 2, Richard, Lathan, Printy), Total fouls — Drake 20, ISU 16. Fouled out — none. A — 5455.
Next — ISU (14-9, 5-7) plays at Wichita State and Drake (13-10, 6-6) plays host to Missouri State on Saturday.
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