By Todd Golden
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE
November 15, 2008 12:07 am
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If you’ve watched any television in your time, you’ve probably seen those artsy time-lapse camera shots where you can watch a flower blossom in the scope of a few seconds.
Indiana State’s men’s basketball team isn’t growing at that rate … not even close. And the Sycamores are still a long way from reaching full bloom.
But during ISU’s 93-71 victory in its final exhibition game against Division II St. Joseph’s at Hulman Center on Friday, one could see possession-by-possession evolution by the Sycamores as they got better as the game progressed.
“We played good offensive all night, but our defense in the first half wasn’t very smart. In the second half, we did a much better job and got better as the game went along,” said ISU guard Jordan Printy, who led ISU with 15 points.
Several Sycamores who had shaky performances against Albion looked much better against St. Joseph’s. Josh Crawford notched a double-double, he had 11 points and 10 rebounds after not scoring at all against the Britons. Tyler Cutter had five steals, five assists and eight points. Printy shot 1 of 9 from the field last Saturday, but made 5 of 9 against the Pumas.
“Last Saturday I was forcing shots and never got into any rhythm. Tonight, I just led the game come to me,” Printy said
“My teammates did a lot of drive-and-kick to get me an opportunity to knock some down tonight,” Printy said.
Jay Tunnell set the offensive tone when he scored ISU’s first seven points of the game to stake the Sycamores to an early lead.
However, ISU give it up on the defensive end, especially on the perimeter. St. Joseph’s buried 8 of 14 from 3-point range in the first half as ISU’s defenders were often late to jump out on shooters. Many of the guilty were from the group of 10 players who had no playing experience for ISU a year ago.
After ISU took an 11-3 lead, its defensive woes allowed St. Joseph’s to come back and eventually lead 17-14. ISU’s experienced players entered the game and the Sycamores worked their way back to a 32-25 advantage in relatively short order.
In the early going, there was one exception as far as newbie production was concerned. As he was against Albion, point guard Rashad Reed was a steadying influence for the Sycamores.
Reed, a junior college transfer from Vincennes, missed the first five weeks of practice with several ailments, but he was once again one of ISU’s best 3-point threats. Reed made 3 of 5 from beyond arc, all of the makes coming in the first half, to finish with 14 points. Reed also had four 3-pointers against Albion.
“Rashad’s a good solid player. When we recruited him, he stuck out as a guy who knocked down shots and just made good decisions. For a guy whose only been at practice a week-and-a-half, he’s shown remarkable progress,” McKenna said.
Reed’s production could not carry the Sycamores. Once ISU’s inexperienced players returned to action, the defensive lapses began anew and St. Joseph’s quickly wiped out the deficit, the Pumas led 33-32 with 7:11 left in the half.
“A couple of guys came in and we gave up two three’s and all of the sudden it’s a one point game. I tell the guys all of the time that when you come in the game, try to go out with a bigger lead. It’s just a little lack of awareness, a little bit of lack of urgency to find shooters. We just need to improve,” McKenna said.
Finally, things began to click in the last seven minutes of the first half. ISU created chances at the line as Tunnell, Carl Richard and Crawford all made free throws to put ISU back in front. Tyler Cutter made a 3-pointer with 5:09 left to make it 39-33.
That’s all it took for ISU’s defensive intensity to click. St. Joseph’s scored just five points for the remainder of the half as the Sycamores ended the half on a 13-3 run to lead by double-digits at halftime.
ISU never looked back after its pre-halftime run. After leading 52-38 at the break, St. Joseph’s never got within 11 points for the remainder of the game. Both teams liberally went to the bench in the second half. Every Sycamore who played scored.
One Sycamore who didn’t play was Koang Doluony. McKenna said after the game that no decision has been made as to whether Doluony will be redshirted.
ISU opens regular season play at Northern Illinois on Tuesday. The Huskies lost 77-64 to Maine in the 100 Club Classic in Kennesaw, Ga. on Friday.
St. Joseph’s 71
Player min fg 3pt ft r a pf tp
Jackson 10 1-5 0-2 1-1 0 0 2 3
Mayse 19 1-4 0-0 0-0 4 0 2 2
Helmer 17 3-3 2-2 0-2 4 2 2 8
Horton 18 2-3 0-0 4-4 2 3 1 8
Peebles 17 1-5 1-4 1-1 1 0 2 4
Jones 15 4-6 1-3 0-0 0 2 1 9
Mahar 16 1-2 1-2 0-0 1 1 4 3
Combs 8 2-4 2-3 0-0 1 0 1 6
Anthrop 11 0-2 0-1 6-6 3 2 1 6
Stevens 8 0-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 0
Chorba 13 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 0 2 3
Smith 10 1-7 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2
Hassler 17 0-3 0-0 2-2 2 1 4 2
Hrynyk 11 4-4 3-3 0-0 1 1 2 11
Collins 11 1-3 1-1 1-1 1 0 2 4
Totals 22-56 12-23 15-17 28* 12 27 71
Indiana State 93
Player min fg 3pt ft r a pf tp
Martin 19 1-2 0-0 2-4 2 0 2 4
Tunnell 16 4-6 1-2 1-2 3 1 2 10
Reed 26 5-8 3-5 1-2 2 3 1 14
Carter 25 1-4 0-1 8-10 5 5 2 10
Richard 24 2-9 0-2 3-5 6 1 1 7
Leitnaker 11 1-3 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 3
Barlow 12 3-5 1-3 2-2 4 0 1 9
Crawford 23 4-7 0-0 3-4 10 2 1 11
Cutter 18 3-3 1-1 1-3 3 5 2 8
Printy 20 5-9 3-5 2-2 1 1 0 15
Donaldson 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 2
Totals 30-58 9-19 24-36 40* 21 14 93
Halftime score — ISU 52, SJ 38. FG Pct. — SJ .393, ISU .517. 3-pt FG Pct. — SJ .522, ISU .474. FT Pct. — SJ .882, ISU .667. Turnovers — SJ 25, ISU 15. Steals — SJ 11 (Helmer, Horton, Peebles, Hrynyk 2), ISU 14 (Cutter 5) . Blocks — SJ 1 (Anthrop), ISU 4 (Martin, Crawford 2) . (*) Team Rebounds — SJ 6, ISU 2. Att — 2,884.
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