Published: November 14, 2009 01:01 am         

Sycamores place 5 in double figures in season-opening victory

TERRE HAUTE — The Indiana State men’s basketball team was a case study in mixed metaphors in Friday’s season-opening game against Nebraska-Kearney.

The Sycamores slow-burned their way to an 88-58 victory over the Division II Lopers in front of 4,484 at Hulman Center. While the rout was administered gradually through the course of the game, it was a slow burn fueled by much faster tempo than ISU has played with in recent seasons.

“The guys competed better as the game went along. I thought early on we were tight, pressing it a little bit too much,” ISU coach Kevin McKenna said. “We were a little stagnant in our motion still, we have to get better movement and better spacing to create more for our guys. It’ll come. We’re a work in progress.”

Jake Kelly led ISU with 16 points in his Sycamore debut as he was one of five Sycamores who broke double-figure scoring. Harry Marshall had 10 points to go with four assists and four steals. Rashad Reed, who played 20 minutes despite a bruised knee, had 14 points.

ISU’s depth came to the fore. All 10 Sycamores who played got at least 11 minutes of action and no one got more than 31 minutes on the floor. With Dwayne Lathan returning from a NCAA suspension in time for ISU’s Preseason NIT game at LSU on Monday, the Sycamores are happy they have plenty of teammates that can carry the load collectively instead of one Sycamore doing it individually.

“Oh man, it’s a great thing for our team. It’s definitely not a problem being deep with our bench,” said Marshall, who left the game with cramps late in the game. “We can go out and play hard each night and not worry about conserving energy.”

ISU (1-0) led by 14 at halftime and looked slightly out-of-sorts, especially on the offensive end, in the first half. UNK actually led 11-8 early on as ISU made just 3 of 12 from the field to start the game.

ISU got its offensive firepower back via its defense, as the Sycamores’ advantage in speed and athleticism overwhelmed the Lopers. A 16-3 run put ISU up 24-14 as the Sycamores got two of the buckets via turnovers and forced two more UNK giveaways during the run.

ISU would go on to score 21 points off UNK turnovers, as opposed to the four points the Lopers scored off the Sycamores’ six giveaways.

ISU guard Jordan Printy was the one consistent offensive option for the Sycamores in the first half. He made two 3-pointers during the ISU run on his way to an 11-point performance. Printy also had seven rebounds.

“I got into a nice little rhythm there in the first half. We ran a couple of sets and I got a couple of open looks. My teammates did a great job finding me when I was open,” Printy said.

In the second half, ISU was more consistent. UNK cut its deficit to 10 early in the half, but another Printy 3-pointer got ISU back on track. A 14-8 run was capped by Aaron Carter’s steal and bucket at the 14:34 mark to make it 48-30.

ISU would build on the lead from there, doing much of its damage at the line (27 of 36) as the Sycamores consistently attacked the basket, eventually building a lead that peaked at 33. No one made more of sorties to the basket than Kelly. Of Kelly’s 16 points, 10 were scored at the line, as he single-handedly put several Lopers in foul trouble.

Kelly admitted that he’s acclimating to his teammates and the ISU system.

“All of the guys have been really good helping me with plays. Being a point guard and having a whole new set of plays is kind of difficult. I’m coming along, but I’m still a little uncomfortable. I’m thinking about things before I do them, it’s not just instinctive. It won’t take long, though,” Kelly said.

A concern of McKenna’s going into the game was rebounding, and though ISU had a 44-32 edge, the third-year ISU coach didn’t see enough good work on the boards to ease his concerns. Until late in the second half, the Lopers were even with the Sycamores on the boards.

“It’s still a concern. We were longer and more athletic than those guys, I think we got some rebounds because of that. I’m not sure we’re consistently blocking out and going after the ball with two hands. The one timeout I called [in the first half] I saw two guys not go after the ball aggressively. We want to be more more aggressive and not get out-worked for loose balls, on the paint or on the floor,” McKenna said.

Akeem Morissaint led the Lopers with 18 points as he connected on 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

ISU will board a plane for Baton Rouge, La. today as they have two days to prepare for its game at LSU on Monday.



Nebraska-Kearney 58

Player min fg 3pt ft r a pf tp

Sankey 21 1-2 0-0 0-0 8 0 1 2

Parker 28 3-5 0-0 5-9 3 0 3 11

Cruise 24 0-6 0-2 0-0 1 3 2 0

Ridgeway 21 1-6 1-4 0-0 4 2 1 3

Froehlich 13 1-3 0-1 2-2 3 1 4 4

Vandahl 9 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 0 4 3

Morissaint 22 6-11 4-7 2-4 0 1 2 18

Hill 15 0-2 0-0 3-4 1 1 0 3

Mingus 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Deans 18 2-5 1-4 0-0 4 1 3 5

Baker 14 1-1 0-0 2-4 1 0 2 4

Harris 10 2-3 0-0 1-2 3 1 2 5

Totals 18-47 7-21 15-25 32* 10 24 58

Indiana State 88

Player min fg 3pt ft r a pf tp

Richard 23 2-5 0-0 2-4 3 2 1 6

Leitnaker 11 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 2

Marshall 31 5-11 0-2 0-2 3 4 2 10

Printy 27 4-9 3-5 0-1 7 3 0 11

Kelly 26 3-6 0-0 10-10 2 1 4 16

Doluony 17 1-4 1-4 2-2 2 1 4 5

Reed 20 5-7 3-5 1-2 4 2 2 14

Crawford 16 1-6 0-0 6-6 7 0 3 8

Martin 14 3-4 0-0 0-0 4 0 2 6

Carter 15 2-4 0-1 6-9 4 0 0 10

Totals 27-58 7-17 27-36 44* 13 18 88

Halftime score — ISU 34, UNK 20. FG Pct. — UNK .383, ISU .466. 3-pt FG Pct. — UNK .333, ISU .412. FT Pct. — UNK .600, ISU .750. Turnovers — UNK 18, ISU 6. Steals — UNK 2 (Ridgeway, Vandahl), ISU 11 (Marshall 4). Blocks — UNK 1 (Parker), ISU 3 (Crawford 3). (*) Team Rebounds — UNK 3, ISU 7. Att — 4,484.

Next — ISU (1-0) plays at LSU Monday in the opening round of the Preseason NIT.