By Mark Bennett
A crowd of 4,723 fans came to watch Indiana
State play Drake on Tuesday in Hulman Center. And it would be
tempting for the Sycamores to think they might have won if only
4,722 had showed up.
But they refused to blame their 62-60 loss
on the fan who flung a wrapped-up hot dog onto the court with
19.3 seconds left to play. The projectile resulted in a crowd-control
technical foul called against the host Sycamores, giving Drake
the chance to tie the game at 60-60 when Luke McDonald hit the
second of two free throws.
The Bulldogs then got the ball out of bounds,
thanks to the call moments earlier that apparently prompted the
thrown hot dog. The officiating crew reversed its decision after
a shot by ISU's Lamar Grimes bounced through a group of players
trying to rebound the basketball. First, one referee signaled
it was the Sycamores' ball. After they huddled, the officials
changed their minds, giving the Bulldogs possession with 19.3
seconds left. That set off a heated protest by ISU Coach Royce
Waltman.
Then the hot dog hit the floor with a thud.
The officials assessed a technical against the home team without
a warning.
McDonald missed the first technical-foul free
throw, and hit the second. The Bulldogs then went upcourt and
won when McDonald rebounded a missed 3-pointer by teammate Andry
Sola and put the ball back into the basket from the baseline
with 2.7 seconds left.
The Sycamores still had three personal fouls
left to commit before Drake reached a bonus free-throw-shooting
situation when the Bulldogs' final play began. A series of three
backcourt fouls by ISU might have burned up much of Drake's 19.3
seconds. But the Sycamores didn't foul.
And they lost. Indiana State (6-19 overall,
4-12 in the Missouri Valley Conference) is now 0-7 in games decided
by three points or less.
As senior Djibril Kante put it, "It seems
like we've just found ways to lose."
Fouling Drake on its final possession might
have helped.
Rebounding Sola's missed shot might have helped.
And if the fan, who was escorted out of Hulman
Center, hadn't thrown the hot dog, that might have helped.
"I don't think it was the hot dog,"
said Kante, who led ISU with 13 points and eight rebounds. "I
mean, even with the hot dog, they hit one free throw. And, I
mean, we were tied. We could've got the offensive rebound. Or
we could've stopped them. The hot dog was a big deal. But I still
blame us. I can't blame some dude that threw a hot dog on the
court."
As irritated as he was by the officials' reversal
on the possession call, Waltman admitted he should have pulled
Grimes when Drake began its final possession. The freshman point
guard already had four personal fouls and was naturally hesitant
to commit his fifth and foul out, even though it might have stalled
Drake's chances.
The furor over the reversal, the hot dog and
the technical blurred their thinking.
"I think that would be my alibi for not
taking Lamar out of the game. And it's not a good one. But what
a swing of emotions," Waltman said.
Had the Sycamores been given possession after
Grimes' missed shot, they would have had a one-point lead and
Drake would likely have to foul them to get the ball back.
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| Tribune-Star/Bob
Poynter |
| Intense: ISU freshman Lamar
Grimes applies defense in the second half of Tuesday's 62-60
Sycamore loss to Drake in Hulman Center. Grimes scored 11 points
in a reserve role. |
"We really practically have the game
won. It's going to be our ball out. We're going to shoot free
throws. And then we're going to have three fouls to give with
three seconds to go," Waltman said. "And no, it's going
to be their ball. And no, it's suddenly they're shooting free
throws. It really was a turn of events that we just didn't quite
cope with."
The Sycamores got some empathy from Drake
Coach Kurt Kanaskie, whose Bulldogs climbed to 12-14 overall
and 7-9 in the MVC. Choosing his words carefully, Kanaskie said
he'd never seen a game end that way.
"We've lost games a lot of different
ways," Kanaskie said. "A hot dog wrapper out of the
stands I'd have to think about that."
The ending overshadowed a tight duel.
The Sycamores led just 33-31 at halftime.
McDonald, the MVC's leading scorer, gave Drake its first lead
since the opening basket at 50-47 on a 3-pointer during a 9-0
run in the second half. ISU answered with its own 9-0 run to
go back up 56-52. And after the Bulldogs took a 57-56 lead with
5:09 left, no one scored again until Grimes hit a driving layup
with 2:08 left for a 58-57 ISU edge. Drake's Aaron Knight responded
with a rebound basket, and then Grimes scored on a spinning jumper
with 1:26 to go.
It was 60-59 ISU.
That set up the last-minute craziness, which
is what Sycamore senior Terence Avery called it.
"But it just goes to show that our luck
at the end of the games this year hasn't been very good,"
said Avery, who backed Kante with 12 points and four rebounds
off the bench. Grimes added 11 points and three assists, also
in reserve.
McDonald led all scorers with 18 points. His
last two came after his only rebound of the night, fielding Sola's
missed 3-pointer.
"He made a great offensive rebound. He
made a difficult shot," Kanaskie said of McDonald. "He
was guarded about as closely as you can be without committing
a foul."
The Sycamores' final home game is at 6:05
p.m. Saturday against Southern Illinois (21-6, 11-4). It's Senior
Night, and instead of entering it on a three-game winning streak,
they must rebound from another loss.
"We [had] put a couple wins together,"
Avery said. "And it was great motivation for the coaching
staff and us. And I just think losing at the end like that, it
hurts you. It hurts deep. We're going to have to work hard in
practice this week, and be serious on Senior Night and see if
we can get a win."
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