TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State men's basketball earned its first NIT win since the 1977-78 with Wednesday night's win over SMU, 101-92.
 
Wednesday's win was highlighted by a career-high 35 points from Jayson Kent, who went 11-for-12 from the floor. The 35 points ties the most points scored by a Sycamore this season. Kent also recorded nine rebounds in almost 39 minutes of action, all with no turnovers.
 
The win over SMU marked Coach Josh Schertz's 400^th win in his 16^th season as a head coach. Coach Schertz moves his overall record to 400-108 (.787).
 
The 35 points from Kent, and Robbie Avila's 35 at Evansville, tied the most points in scored by a player in the Schertz era. Cooper Neese recorded 35 against Evansville on February 10, 2022. 
 
Ryan Conwell scored 25 points on 8-for-11 shooting, pulling down five rebounds and dishing out three assists. Xavier Bledson scored 14 points off the bench, shooting 6-for-9 with four rebounds. Avila scored 13 points, recorded eight rebounds, and dished out seven assists. The big man converted all 9-of-9 free throw attempts. Julian Larry rounded out the five Sycamores in double figures with 10 points, also tallying seven assists.
 
SMU grabbed an early lead and held it the entire first half. The Sycamores brought the game within one point off an Avila and-one at the 15:25 mark with a score of 13-12. SMU took a 9-0 run to help maintain the first-half lead over ISU. A three-pointer at the buzzer by SMU gave the Mustangs a 49-40 lead at the break.
 
The visitors had the upper hand early in the second half, extending their lead out to 69-56 before the Sycamores came roaring back. Facing a 10-point deficit near the midway point of the half, Indiana State rattled off a 17-1 run to pull ahead 81-75. Kent and Bledson both knocked down threes during that span, with five different Sycamores scoring during in the run. Conwell and Bledson tacked on treys as part of another Sycamore scoring spurt, as the Trees further extended their lead to 91-81 with just under three minutes remaining. Indiana State went 10-for-10 from the charity stripe inside the final three minutes to book a spot in the second round of the NIT against Minnesota.
 
News and Notes

• Wednesday's win gives Indiana State 29 for the season, the Sycamores' second-most wins in a single season. The Trees' single-season wins record is 33, set in the 1978-79 season.
• Head coach Josh Schertz earned his 400th career win Wednesday night. Schertz improved to 63-39 in his three seasons as the head coach at Indiana State.
• Jayson Kent's career-high 35 points came on an 11-for-12 shooting performance (91.7 percent). Kent also went 11-for-12 from the free throw line, with the 11 made free throws also a career high.
• Ryan Conwell shot a season-best 72.7 percent (8-for-11) on his way to a 25-point outing. Conwell was 4-for-7 from behind the arc.
• Xavier Bledson came off the bench to score 14 points, accounting for all of the Sycamores' bench points. Indiana State was plus-22 with Bledson on the floor, accounting for the highest plus-minus of any athlete on either team.
• Jayson Kent, Robbie Avila and Julian Larry combined to go 24-for-26 from the free throw line Wednesday, while Indiana State went 30-for-35 from the free throw line as a team.
• Indiana State's 101 points scored marked the fourth time this season that the Sycamores surpassed the century mark on the scoreboard.

 
Postgame Press Conference Presented by Team Green Law


Up Next
Indiana State faces Minnesota inside Hulman Center Sunday at 2 p.m. in the second round of the 2024 NIT.

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