By Mark Bennett
LARAMIE, WYO. -- A sign in the tunnel leading
to Wyoming's Arena-Auditorium court says, "Elevation 7,220
feet, How's your oxygen?"
The Indiana State Sycamores were struggling
when came to this remote and lofty Rocky Mountain outpost and
were hoping to breathe life back into their season hopes against
the host Cowboys on Wednesday evening.
Instead, the Sycamores finished a three-game
road trip from Drake to Creighton to Wyoming with three losses.
They fell 72-58 to the Cowboys.
For the game's first 13 minutes, ISU used
the size of frontliners Djibril Kante and Terence Avery to double-team
Wyoming's pivotmen, especially 6-foot-8, 235-pound Josh Davis.
And for 13 minutes, that worked.
Then Cowboy reserve guard Paris Corner took
advantage of that tactic by raining in 3-pointers.
His 3-pointer with 7 minutes, 3 seconds left
before halftime erased ISU's early lead for good as Wyoming went
ahead 22-21.
"We knew they were a good shooting team,
but as big and as physical as they were down low, we knew we
had to take that away," Kante said.
Davis finished with just five points, but
had 13 rebounds, six blocked shots, five assists and a steal.
Corner led all scorers with 17 points, hitting five of Wyoming's
nine 3-pointers.
"They couldn't double in the post [anymore]
when our guards were knocking down threes," Davis said.
Once again, the mystery at halftime was whether
the Sycamores could stay close until the finish. ISU's earlier
second-half swoons turn tight games into blowouts against Valparaiso,
Butler and Creighton.
This time, the first half ended with the Sycamores
trailing 36-30. ISU might have been leading had the Cowboys not
gone on a 3-point shooting tear. After a three-point play by
Kante and a jumpshot from Kelyn Block put the Sycamores up 13-11,
Corner sank four 3-pointers in less than six minutes. When Corner's
streak ended, the Cowboys led 22-21 and they stayed ahead into
halftime.
After hitting 10 of their first 18 field goals,
the Sycamores made just two of their last 11 shots before the
break.
Kante's steadiness helped ISU in those first
20 minutes. Though Wyoming's frontcourt blocked five ISU shots
in the first half, including two Kante's, he kept going back
to the basket. Dueling with Davis, Kante had 10 points and four
rebounds at intermission.
As the second half began, Kante retaliated,
blocking Wyoming shots on successive possessions. But the Sycamores
also committed turnovers in their first two trips downcourt.
That allowed the Cowboys to start a 19-5 run to start the final
period, complete with more 3-pointers from Wyoming's Donta Richardson,
Corner and Marcus Bailey. They now led 55-35.
"The second half we really fought,"
Kante said, "but those first five minutes hurt us."
The Sycamores hit just one field goal in the
first 10 minutes of the second half.
Back-to-back layups by Block ended the ISU
dryspell. But the Cowboys never stopped scoring either.
Still, seeing the Sycamores battle for baskets
while trailing was an encouraging for Waltman.
|
|
 |
| Robert
Hendricks/Casper Star-Tribune |
| Mingo the man: Wyoming's
Ronell Mingo shoots over Indiana State's Kelyn Block during the
Sycamores' loss Wednesday night at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie,
Wyo. |
"We've had teams where this wouldn't
have been acceptable. But we're at a stage where we're just trying
to have the confidence to compete for 40 minutes," he said.
"And in spite of the loss, I do think we made progress there."
By game's end, 10 Wyoming players had scored
three or more points, led by Corner's 17, Bailey's 11 and Richardson's
10. "Our outside shots wouldn't fall, and Paris came in
and knocked some down for us," Wyoming Coach Steve McClain
said.
The Cowboys also dominated the rebounding
charts 48-35.
ISU was led by Kante's 16 points and two blocks.
"Djibril always hangs in there," Waltman said. "We
were using him in a variety of ways and at times he probably
wasn't sure what the hell he was supposed to be doing, but he
just fought through all that and had a really good game."
Block led the team in rebounds with eight.
Avery also scored in double figures with 14 points, and scored
the game's final basket with his first career 3-pointer.
Wednesday's defeat sends ISU (2-7) into Saturday's
2:05 p.m. game in Hulman Center against 20th-ranked Ball State,
while Wyoming climbed to 7-3.
"They're a good team," Kante said
of the Cardinals.
Game notes --
The wild West got a little rough for Sycamore sophomore Matt
Berry when the team practiced for the first time Monday in Wyoming's
arena. Avery's elbow accidentally hit Berry in the nose. ISU
head athletic trainer Dave Ralston said doctors will examine
his injury more closely on Friday after the Sycamores return
to Terre Haute.
During Wednesday's game, Block bruised his
right kneecap and Marcus Howard deeply bruised his right thigh.
Both are expected to be available Saturday, Ralston said.
Freshman Lamar Grimes made his third start
of the season at point guard. The 6-foot Chicago native earlier
started in losses at Illinois-Chicago and Eastern Illinois.
The Cowboys aren't done facing opponents with
strong Indiana ties. They ring in 2002 with Bob Knight, playing
the former IU coach's Texas Tech Red Raiders at Lubbock on New
Year's Day.
The Sycamores will be under .500 at Christmas
for the first time since the 1995-96 team started 2-4. Waltman's
previous four ISU teams went into Christmas with records of 7-2,
6-5, 7-4 and 8-3.
After Saturday's game against Ball State,
the Sycamores are off until a 2:05 p.m. game against Bowling
Green on Dec. 29 in Hulman Center. Ball State lost 75-66 to Butler
on Wednesday night. Butler beat ISU 69-49 in Hinkle Fieldhouse
on Nov. 25
|
