TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? The Indiana State men's basketball team was looking to wrap up its exhibition season on Sunday against Nebraska-Kearney, and that's exactly what the Sycamores did as they won a 90-59 decision over the Lopers in front of 2,863 fans at the Hulman Center.
ISU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before UNK tied the game at 4 on a layup by Justin McCullough. The Lopers would eventually take the lead 8-6 on a layup by Max Froehlich with 15:56 left on the clock, but that would be the one and only lead of the day for the visitors. Indiana State quickly answered with a three-pointer from Harry Marshall to retake the lead 9-8 and the Sycamores would never look back.
The Sycamores dominated the rest of the second half, eventually opening up the lead to 15 points at 29-14 with 7:17 left in the half, thanks to freshman Lamar Lee's three three-point makes from beyond the arch. The lead later grew to 19 points after Isiah Martin made two free throws to bring the score to 45-26 with just 2:01 left on the clock. Drake Berenek answered for UNK with a tip-in to cut the lead to 17 at 45-28, but ISU got those points back on two free throws from Marshall to make the score 47-28 at halftime.
The second half was just as convincing for ISU, as UNK was only able to keep the ISU advantage less than 20 points five times in the half. Lee continued to be the spark plug off the bench for the Sycamores, as his fast-break layup gave the Sycamores a 57-34 advantage at the 15:03 mark.
ISU's lead hovered around the 20 point mark until about the seven minute mark, when the Sycamores pushed their lead into the mid 20's for the rest of the game. Martin scored five straight points for ISU to widen the lead to 26 at 79-53 and fellow freshman Jordan Printy got into the act and nailed a three to put the Sycamores up by 29 at 82-53 with 4:34 left on the clock. The lead would eventually grow to 33 points at 90-57 with under a minute to play, before a made layup by UNK's Josiah Parker brought the score to its final at 90-59.
Lee and Martin led the way for the Sycamores off the bench, as the freshman each produced game-high 16 point efforts. Lee finished 6-for-8 from the field, including a 4-for-5 effort from beyond the arch, while Martin added a game-high seven rebounds. Cole Holmstrom and Marshall also scored in double figures for the Sycamores, each scoring 13 points. UNK was led by Jeff Martin with 14 points, while Berenek chipped in 11 in the losing effort.
Indiana State opens the regular season on Friday, November 9 at 7:05 p.m. against Oakland City at the Hulman Center.
