Published: November 08, 2009 12:29 am         

ISU men's basketball uses balanced attack to get exhibition win over University of Indianapolis

Sycamores show off their depth in 82-67 victory over University of Indianapolis

TERRE HAUTE — A whole lot of balance and a whole lot of quality depth not seen in these parts in recent years enabled Indiana State to overpower Indianapolis 82-67 in a men’s college basketball exhibition game Saturday in Hulman Center.

Eleven was a key number as ISU had 11 players play at least 11 minutes in this final tuneup before the regular season. Four of ISU’s players finished in double figures scoring.

Dwayne Lathan led the Sycamores with 16 points, Harry Marshall had 14, Aaron Carter 13 and Jake Kelly 11. Marshall didn’t start after serving a one-game suspension for a violation of team rules, but played a team-high 27 minutes.

“I think we have good depth on our team,” ISU coach Kevin McKenna said. “Our wing players and our bigs, we’ve got depth at every position. A lot of guys have experience and deserve to have an opportunity.

“My goal is to keep our guys fresh so we can play the full court game … so we can push the ball and attack more. Try to be a team that wears other teams down a little bit.”

The Sycamores limited Indy to just 32.3 percent in field-goal accuracy, just 29.4 percent in the first half to build a 38-28 lead. ISU shot at a gaudy 54.3 percent clip — making five more field goals than Indy despite taking 16 less shots.

Indianapolis coach Stan Gouard, a former ISU assistant coach from 2005-08, was asked afterward if his team’s 32.3 percent field goal accuracy was due to ISU’s defense, just a cold shooting day or a little of both.

“I think it was their defense,” Gouard stated. “We played Valpo the other day [winning 88-83 at Valparaiso in an exhibition game last Sunday] … it was just a different look. Valpo was aggressive with a couple guys, but Indiana State? All those guys were aggressive. [ISU] did a great job of scouting. It had nothing to do with our shooting, it was [ISU’s] defense.”

The game started with two early lead changes, but Jake Kelly’s 3-pointer put the Sycamores up for keeps at 6-4. Kelly’s trey started a 10-0 ISU run for an early 13-4 advantage. Carter scored on a drive and a 3-pointer with the run concluding with a Marshall jumper.

Soon after, Lathan stole a Indy pass at the top of the key and threw down a one-handed slam dunk for a 20-10 lead. ISU stretched its lead to 28-17 as Marshall nailed a jumper, then hit two free throws after being fouled on an aggressive drive to the basket.

Marshall’s jumper at the buzzer sent the Sycamores to the intermission with a 38-28 lead. ISU continued its momentum in the second half, Lathan scoring their first basket on a two-handed slam with his back to the basket for a 40-29 lead.

Carter started a 11-0 ISU run moments later by hitting a 3-pointer. Koang Dulouny hit a jumper, then back-to-back steals by Jake Odum set up 3-pointers by Marshall and Carter. Suddenly, ISU led 54-34.

ISU’s biggest lead was 21 points on two occasions — the last at 58-37. Indy would get no closer than 12 points, 66-54, the balance of the game.

While ISU was impressive in many aspects of play, they did allow 18 offensive rebounds, committed 20 turnovers and had the ball stolen 11 times. On the plus side, they blocked 12 Indy shots, six by Josh Crawford in just 12 minutes of playing time.

“I thought we tried to make some plays that really weren’t there on a few occasions … and got into some trouble with turnovers,” McKenna noted. “But overall, intensity was decent. We made our free throws [making 24-of 27].

“But we have to do a better job understanding what we’re trying to do, where we’re trying to go with the ball and not force the issue. If we do that and play a little more physical inside, I think we can be a good team. Giving up 18 offensive rebounds and having 20 turnovers shows we still have work to do.”

The Greyhounds placed three players in double figures, led by Larry Woods’ 14 points. DeWann Squires added 13 points and Ryan Sims 10.

“I liked our chances coming into this game, but I knew what [ISU] was capable of as far as their work ethic.” Gouard stated. “Coach McKenna has put together a great nucleus of guys who are going to do the right thing and are going to work hard.

“Indiana State got off to a really good start … we were slow and [ISU] was clicking on all cylinders. They did a great job on defense and shot the heck out of the ball.”

ISU will open the regular season with a 7:05 p.m. home game vs. Nebraska-Kearney on Friday. Indianapolis begins it season with a home game vs. Mount St. Joseph on Nov. 15.



Indianapolis 67

Player mi fg 3pt ft r a pf tp

Fox 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Corsaro +0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0

B.Johnson 11 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 2 0

Sims 25 2-8 2-5 4-4 3 0 1 10

Dye 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Adams 35 2-10 1-4 2-2 6 1 2 7

T.Johnson 0+ 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0

Blank 34 0-6 0-2 5-8 4 0 3 5

Knight 17 2-3 0-0 1-2 0 0 2 5

Woods 31 4-13 0-0 6-10 2 1 0 14

Struck 19 4-10 0-1 0-0 7 0 4 8

Squires 17 4-6 1-2 4-4 2 0 5 13

Parrish 8 2-2 0-0 1-1 1 0 0 5

Totals 20-62 4-16 23-31 32* 2 20 67

Indiana State 82

Player mi fg 3pt ft r a pf tp

Leitnaker 15 2-3 0-0 1-1 1 2 1 5

Duluony 20 3-5 0-1 0-0 6 2 2 6

Lu.Eitel 1 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2

Crawford 12 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 2

Lo.Eitel 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Odum 11 0-2 0-1 4-4 2 2 0 4

Lathan 24 5-9 2-3 4-6 5 3 1 16

Martin 12 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 2

Marshall 27 4-11 1-3 5-6 3 3 2 14

Printy 22 1-3 1-3 2-2 1 1 1 5

Mahurin 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Carter 14 4-5 3-3 2-2 6 0 2 13

Richard 14 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 0 5 2

Kelly 26 2-3 1-1 6-6 4 2 4 11

Totals 25-46 8-16 24-27 35* 16 22 82

Halftime score — ISU 38, Indy 28. FG % — Indy .323, ISU .543; 3P% — Indy .250, ISU .500; FT% — Indy .742, ISU .889. Steals — Indy 11 (Adams 4, Sims 3, Blank 2), ISU 6 (Odum 2); Blocks — Indy 2 (Adams, Woods), ISU 12 (Crawford 6, Martin 2, Kelly 2). Turnovers — Indy 11, ISU 20. Team rebounds(*) — Indy 5, ISU 2. A — 3,261.

Next — Indiana State (0-0) hosts Nebraska-Kearney at 7:05 p.m. on Friday. Indianapolis (0-0) hosts Mount St. Joseph on Nov. 15.