Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
NASHVILLE -- The Indiana State Sycamores got a career-high 28 points from sophomore Khristian Smith but could not sustain a red-hot shooting performance after the break in falling 96-95 to Belmont in front of 2,113 fans inside the Curb Event Center.
The Sycamores fell to 1-1 on the season while Belmont improved to 2-1.
Smith's career high 28 points came on the strength of a 10-of-13 shooting performance, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. The 28-point outing topped his 20 point performance last season at Morehead State.
Jake Odum added 23 points of his own for the Sycamores as he hit 11-of-12 charity tosses in the contest. Indiana State hit 7-of-12 3-pointers in the first half but were 2-of-10 after the break.
The Sycamores battled back from down as many as 12 points late and Odum converted a conventional 3-point play with 22.1 seconds remaining to get the Sycamores within 94-92. After Belmont hit a pair of free throws, Khristian Smith buried a deep 3-pointer with 9.1 seconds remaining to get the Trees withing 96-95.
Dawon Cummings forced a jump ball and gave ISU the possession with just over five seconds remaining. Odum drove the lane as time expired but fell to the ground and the game ended with ISU on the short end of a 96-95 decision.
Indiana State scored first in the contest on a second chance lay-up by Manny Arop with 19:22 on the clock for the quick 2-0 advantage. Both teams exchanged brief three point leads before a pair of free throws by JJ Mann staked the Bruins to a 13-12 lead.
Khristian Smith drained an open 3-pointer with 12:51 remaining before the break to five ISU a 15-13 advantage before Belmont answered with a Blake Jenkins lay-up knotted the affair at 15. Indiana State scored four points in a row, including a conventional 3-point play by Smith at the 11:38 mark for a 19-15 advantage.
The Sycamores would score seven in a row, including a triple by Arop at the 10 minute mark and a pair of Dawon Cummings free throws 50 seconds later for a 26-17 lead.
Each time Belmont would get the lead whittled down to six or fewer, the Sycamores had an answer with a 3-pointer such as the 4:57 mark of the first half when Smith expanded the lead out to 37-25. A pair of Jake Odum free throws with just over a minute remaining gave the Sycamores a 47-31 cushion and then he hit two more with 52 seconds remaining for the 49-33 lead at the half.
Belmont would score 18 of the first 23 points against Indiana State in the second half but Arop was able to end the string with a lay-up with just under 14:30 remaining and then Smith notched a new career high with his 21st point on a second chance opportunity as the clock ticked under 14 minutes to go for a 58-51 lead. Cummings made it six points in a row with a pair of free throws at the 13:41 mark as the lead grew back to 60-51.
A lay-up with 9:32 remaining in the contest gave ISU a 66-64 advantage but Belmont was able to score on back-to-back trips down the floor to take a 68-66 lead -- its first since early in the contest. Belmont would make it six points in a row to take a four-point lead until Smith drove in for a lay-up to inch ISU within 70-68 with 7:30 to play. A pair of Odum free throws out of a media timeout with 7:11 on the clock knotted the contest at 70.
Belmont went on to score each of the next seven points until Odum hit a lay-up with 5:33 remaining to stop the bleeding and get ISU within 77-72. A conventional 3-point play by Odum with just under four minutes remaining got the Trees to within 83-77.
The Belmont advantage grew to as many as 12 points in the final minutes of the contest, but the Sycamores battled back to get as close as 93-89 with 34.4 seconds on the clock as Cummings hit the first Indiana State triple of the second half.
Six Belmont players finished in double figures scoring, led by 23 points from JJ Mann.
Indiana State returns to action on Sunday, November 17 when they travel to nationally-ranked Notre Dame. Tip-off for the contest, which can be seen live nationally on several regional sports outlets including Fox Sports Indiana, is set for Noon (ET).
