By Mark Bennett
As one Indiana State free throw after another
clanged off the Hulman Center rims Saturday afternoon, the Bowling
Green Falcons continued to foul the Sycamores.
But that wasn't by design, Bowling Green Coach
Dan Dakich emphasized.
"We weren't fouling on purpose. It just
looked that way," Dakich said. His Falcons committed 27
fouls, setting up 36 Sycamore free throw attempts. ISU missed
19 of those foul shots, and lost 65-55.
In the final five minutes of the first half,
the Sycamores (2-9) missed five of their 10 free throws. "[The
Sycamores] are up 12 to 15 [points] in the first half if they
make free throws," Dakich said. Instead, Indiana State led
the Falcons (10-1) by a slim 28-23 margin.
"I thought it was the worst half of basketball
we've played in the first half. But I thought Indiana State had
a lot to do with that. They held on to the ball. They drove it.
I just think they're a good team," Dakich said.
And then his team proceeded to play one of
its best halves of the season.
Meanwhile, blown free throws continued to
spoil a strong defensive performance in the second half too.
In the first five minutes, ISU missed five of six free throws.
And that allowed the Sycamores' game-long lead to slip away.
"We work on free throws all the time,"
sophomore guard Marcus Howard explained. "But unfortunately,
we weren't able to knock them down in this game."
Senior forward Djibril Kante had a day reminiscent
of his injury-hampered sophomore season, missing all nine of
his foul shots. Freshman guard Lamar Grimes went 1 for 4 from
the line. Even Howard -- the team's top free throw shooter this
season at 85.7 percent -- missed a pair with 3 minutes and 24
seconds left in the first half but ended up 4-for-6.
"We had done a pretty good job of having
long possessions, which led to us getting drives on the basket
or balls into the post and led to them getting in a lot of foul
trouble," Sycamore Coach Royce Waltman said. "And we
just couldn't convert."
After Kante missed two free throws with 15:53
left to play and ISU leading 35-33, the Falcons cashed in. Brent
Klassen rebounded Kante's second miss, passed to Brandon Pardon,
who flung a floor-length pass to Kevin Netter for an easy layup
and a tie score. And when Kelyn Block missed a jumper, the Falcons
found Netter for another fastbreak basket and their first lead.
Finally, Terence Avery sank one of two foul
shots and then Howard hit a pair to put ISU ahead again at 38-37.
But the door had already been opened for Bowling Green star Keith
McLeod. Howard's defense held the 6-foot-2 senior to only
10 first-half points. After the break, McLeod scored 16 of Bowling
Green's first 22 second-half points.
He finished with 32 points, one shy of his
career high. Only two other players -- Netter with 18 points,
and Howard with 10 -- scored in double figures.
"We went into halftime with the attitude
that we weren't going to lose," McLeod said. "I hit
a couple of shots that kind of got everybody going. That was
kind of an adrenaline boost."
His most crushing shots were a pair of 3-pointers
sandwiched around a missed free throw by Kante, stretching Bowling
Green's lead to 55-46. McLeod hit 11 of 19 field goal attempts,
including 6 of 10 beyond the 3-point arc. He also had five rebounds,
two assists, two steals and just one turnover in 39 minutes.
Defending tightly all afternoon, Howard saw
it all up close.
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| Tribune-Star/Joseph
C. Garza |
| Battle underneath: Indiana
State center Terence Avery (31) contends with Bowling Green's
Kevin Netter under the hoop during Saturday's game in Hulman
Center. |
"Obviously, he showed tonight how good
of a player he is," Howard said of McLeod.
Dakich compared his senior standout to some
of the greats he coached in 12 years as a Bob Knight assistant
at Indiana.
"I don't throw things around much. But
I had a chance to coach [Calbert] Cheaney and [Greg] Graham and
to watch [Steve] Alford and those guys, and this kid has had
an All-American year," Dakich said. "I mean I'm not
talking about all-league. I'm not talking about all-Midwest.
The kid has been every night."
Waltman praised Howard's defensive effort
against McLeod, suggesting adjustments to bring more help from
other Sycamores might have been more effective. "We allowed
him to get away with a lot of dribbling back and forth, and then
getting his shot," Waltman said.
McLeod and the Falcons were the last in a
string of nine strong non-conference opponents for the Sycamores,
who now resume Missouri Valley Conference play at 4:05 p.m. next
Saturday in Hulman Center against Evansville. So far, ISU is
0-2 in MVC play.
Waltman has seen progress in his team's last
three outings, though all ended in defeat. On Saturday, they
outrebounded Bowling Green 38-32, led by 11 each from Kante and
Avery. They committed just 12 turnovers. But they've lost five
games in a row against the 10th-toughest schedule in America,
according to the Sagarin power ratings.
"From a basketball standpoint, we have
improved," Waltman said. "Whether we'll reap any benefits
from that or if that will be overshadowed by how much the 2-9
start has damaged our morale, I don't know. But we have gotten
better, and we're in a position where I think we can compete
with conference teams. But it's hard to tell where we are spirit-wise."
Game notes --
ISU's two leading scorers, Howard and freshman forward Jake Sams,
played at less than full health. Sams spent Saturday morning
in the hospital, getting an infusion of fluids after an overnight
bout with the flu. He still made his second start, getting nine
points, three rebounds and a steal in 26 minutes.
"I felt good in the first half right
after getting out of the hospital," Sams said. "But
in the second half, I started to feel it a little bit."
Howard played with the lingering pain of blisters
on the bottom of his feet. "I've got to find a way to get
rid of these, because they're bugging me right now," he
said. Still, he played 34 minutes.
"Both of those guys hung in there and
did a good job," Waltman said.
Junior guard Matt Broermann led ISU in minutes
with 38, getting six points, three rebounds and two assists.
The Sycamore seniors accounted for 21 points. Block scored seven,
and added seven assists and two steals, but also had five turnovers.
Avery had eight points and three turnovers, and Kante scored
six points and turned the ball over three times.
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