Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
LAS VEGAS -- The Sycamores battled Memphis tough in the second half before falling 72-62 in the team's finale at the Las Vegas Invitational.
The Sycamores fell to 3-3 overall while Memphis improved to 2-2. Indiana State finished 2-2 in the Las Vegas Invitational with two wins at home over Austin Peay and Brown before falling to Memphis and Illinois at the Orleans Arena.
Brenton Scott came off the bench to lead the Sycamores to with three rebounds. Khristian Smith scored 10 points with his six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Devonte Brown was named to the All-Las Vegas Invitational Team. He scored nine points with four assists and a steal in the Memphis game. He averaged 10.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during the Sycamores' four-game stretch in the tournament.
Indiana State raced out to a quick 6-0 lead over Memphis as Gant opened the scoring along with a Khristian Smith pair of free throws and a jumper just a minute and a half into the game. The Tigers drew within a point before Tre' Bennett drained a long 3-pointer to stretch the advantage to 9-5 at the 17:03 mark.
Memphis led briefly at 10-9 before Gant moved well around the basket to for a lay-up and ISU regained a one point advantage with 14:12 on the clock. Then Grant Prusator continued his strong performance in Vegas with a deep 3-pointer as the Sycamore lead grew to 14-10. Brenton Scott kept the Sycamores hot from the corner for another trifecta and the Sycamores owned a 17-11 lead at the 11:54 mark.
A 14-0 run for Memphis over almost seven minutes ended with a Brenton Scott jumper as the clock ticked down near the five minute mark and the Tigers were ahead 25-19. Brandon Murphy converted a pair of charity tosses to make it 25-21 with just under four minutes left before the half. This time the Tigers would score 12 points in a row for the 37-21 cushion. Scott stemmed the tide with a free throw with five seconds on the clock, but a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer by Avery Johnson stretched the Memphis lead out to 40-22. Scott led Indiana State with six points at the break.
The Tigers would score first out of the break, but Bennett drained a 3-pointer with 18:29 left in the second half to get ISU within 42-25. He went on to get a steal and foul where he made a free throw to get the Sycamores within 16 points. A conventional 3-point play from Scott after a steal and breakaway lay-up with just over 14 minutes remaining got ISU within 48-31. After Prusator picked up a defensive rebound, Scott drained a 3-pointer with 13:35 on the clock to cut the Memphis lead to 14 points as the Tigers called a timeout.
Over the next six minutes, Memphis would score just two points as free throws from T.J. Bell as well as a lay-up from Jake Kitchell drew the Sycamores within 50-40. The Tigers ended their drought with four points in a row before Smith scored on a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to 12 with 5:33 remaining. Devonte Brown then made his charity tosses with just over four minutes on the clock to make it 54-44. A steal and dunk from Memphis was answered with a T.J. Bell flush as time went under three minutes to make it 56-46. A defensive stop was followed by a Kitchell trifecta and the Sycamores trailed just 56-49 with 2:10 to go.
The Sycamores got a second chance field goal from Smith with 59 seconds remaining as ISU continued to hang around with Memphis owning a 62-54 lead. The two teams then traded scores with Brown converting two charity tosses with 45.8 seconds left to make it 64-56.
Indiana State hosts Butler on Wednesday, December 3 inside Hulman Center. The game will tip-off at 7:05 p.m. (ET).
