TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? Indiana State basketball head coach Kevin
McKenna coached barefoot on Wednesday night against Southern Illinois (9-10, 4-4 MVC) in order to
raise awareness for Samaritan's Feet, a non-profit organization dedicated to
changing lives through Shoes of Hope distributions throughout the world. Unfortunately, Indiana State (4-15, 2-6 MVC) walked away with
a loss and dropped a 58-47 decision to the Salukis at Hulman Center
In his
first game back since injuring his hamstring back on January 10, Harry Marshall
knocked down his first jump shot of the night to make it a 6-4 ballgame in
favor of the Salukis early in the first half.
A minute later, head coach Kevin McKenna was forced to call a timeout
when Carlton Fay nailed a three-pointer to put SIU up 9-4 with 16:31 remaining.
Out of
the timeout, Rashad Reed made up for an earlier turnover by knocking down a
three-point basket of his own to bring his team within two. Wesley Clemmons was the next shooter to
register a three-pointer and kept SIU perfect from three-point range (3-for-3)
at the 12:36 mark, which gave the visitors a 15-7 advantage. A Jordan Printy steal, his second of the
game, led to a Josh Crawford fast break layup on the other end to cut the lead
to 15-9 forcing the Salukis to call their first timeout of the game.
For the
next three minutes, neither team registered a basket as both squads were
plagued by turnovers. It wasn't until
the 8:14 mark that Justin Bocot broke the scoreless stretch by
laying in the ball for a 17-9 Saluki advantage.
After an Isiah Martin second-chance layup, the Salukis went on a 5-0 run
to widen the lead to 22-12 with just under five minutes remaining.
Indiana State was not ready to give in as they
outscored SIU 12-5 in the remaining minutes of the half. Printy and Aaron Carter hit back-to-back
three-pointers to bring the Sycamores within four at 22-18. After a Saluki three-pointer, Crawford
received a big roar from the crowd as he threw down a one-handed dunk over SIU's
Carlton Fay and knocked down a free throw from the charity stripe to cut the
lead back to four. After a layup by
Kevin Dillard, Carter ended the half by nailing another three-point basket to
bring the Sycamores within three at 27-24 at the break.
The
Salukis started the second half by scoring nine points in the first six-and-a-half
minutes compared to just three for the Sycamores to widen their advantage to
36-27. A layup by Dillard at the 12:31 mark increased the Saluki lead
to eleven at 38-27, before two free throws from Martin cut the lead to single
digits at 38-29.
Martin
put in a layup with 11:08 remaining on the clock to bring
the Sycamores within eight points at 39-31, before the Salukis ripped off five
straight points to take a 44-31 lead with 9:21 remaining in the game. SIU held a 48-36 lead with 7:04 remaining before Marshall nailed a jumper to cut the lead
back to 10 at 48-38. Dillard and
Marshall then traded free throws to keep the SIU advantage at 49-39.
Indiana State climbed to within nine points at
56-47 with 1:13 to go when Martin tipped in a missed Printy layup. From that point on, the Sycamores tried to
play catch-up but were unable to come back as they dropped a 58-47 decision to
the Salukis.
Martin
led all Sycamore scorers with 12 points to go along with six rebounds and two
steals on the night. Marshall added nine in his return to the
lineup, including a 5-for-7 effort from the free throw line. Senior Jay Tunnell, who was sick with
flu-like symptoms prior to the game, scored seven points and grabbed six
rebounds in 17 minutes of action. The
Salukis, who registered 24 points off ISU turnovers, were led in scoring by
Dillard and Ryan Hare, who each tallied 17 points.
Indiana State will travel to Peoria this weekend to try and even its record with the Bradley Braves on Saturday, January 24, for a 7:05
p.m.
tipoff. That game will be featured on
Fox Sports Midwest as part of the Missouri Valley Conference TV package. The Sycamores dropped their
first game against the Braves by a 63-52 decision less than two weeks ago.
