By Mark Bennett
It is still a loss.
And yet, unlike most of the Indiana State
Sycamores' first 16 defeats this season, Wednesday's 64-63 setback
to visiting Missouri Valley Conference co-leader Creighton had
a different twist.
Two crucial plays at the game's end drew irate
reactions from the crowd of 5,169 and Sycamore Coach Royce Waltman.
With ISU trailing 62-60, sophomore Matt Berry
intercepted a cross-court pass by Bluejays standout Kyle Korver
with 33 seconds to play. After a Sycamore timeout, senior Kelyn
Block whipped a pass out to teammate Matt Broermann, who sank
his fourth 3-pointer of the night with 14 seconds left in the
game.
This time, the Sycamores (4-17 overall, 2-10
in the MVC) were leading Creighton (15-6, 10-2) by a point --
at 63-62 -- in the final moments.
But as Creighton brought the ball upcourt,
ISU point guard Lamar Grimes was whistled for a hand-check foul
on Bluejay counterpart Tyler McKinney with 6.8 seconds to play.
Grimes had fouled out. And McKinney, a freshman like Grimes,
hit both ends of his one-and-one free throw chance.
The lead was now Creighton's at 64-63. And
when the teams emerged from a timeout, the Sycamores got the
ball to Block who bolted upcourt for a final shot. Instead, Block
stumbled as he reached the top of the key. Bluejay forward Michael
Lindeman snatched the loose ball, and another Sycamore loss began
to sink in.
Waltman ventured out onto the court to protest
the lack of a foul call on Block as well as the foul called on
Grimes. But the plays stood.
The defeat was ISU's six by a margin of three
points or less. Three times, the Sycamores have lost a home MVC
game by a point.
"I think most of our losses had a common
thread of maybe making a misplay at the end of the game,"
Waltman said. "And I thought tonight was a little bit different.
I thought our guys made plays that gave us a chance to win."
Indeed, the Sycamores used a 13-0 mid-game
run to turn a 27-18 first-half deficit into a 31-27 lead early
in the second half. Berry and Block led that charge. Berry sank
two 3-pointers in that stretch, and finished the run with a slam
dunk triggered by teammate Marcus Howard's steal. Block hit three
free throws and a baseline jumper.
Then with less than four minutes to play,
ISU rallied again, this time from a 61-52 deficit. The Sycamores
rattled off an 11-1 run, capped by Berry's steal and Broermann's
3-pointer.
And then Grimes was called for the foul on
McKinney. That wasn't the Sycamores' strategy, of course.
"I think guys were thinking, 'Don't foul,'
" Block said. "And I think Lamar was just trying to
slow the ball down."
That led to McKinney hitting tying and go-ahead
free throws -- his only two of the game. "That showed a
lot of composure for a freshman," Creighton Coach Dana Altman
said.
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| Tribune-Star/Joseph
C. Garza |
| Stretch for two: Indiana
State guard Kelyn Block (14) drives to the basket and tries to
make a layup Wednesday night over the outstretched arms of Creighton's
Kyle Korver during their game in Hulman Center. |
Once that happened, the Sycamores' plan was
for Block to drive for a basket in response.
"Kelyn got through that first wave and
had plenty of time to get to the basket, and fell down,"
Waltman said. "I just think in situations late in the game
like that with a one-point deficit, you just take the ball and
drive to the bucket because the other team is so afraid to foul,
and he didn't maintain possession the whole way."
Block wouldn't comment on whether a foul should
have been called. "Use your own judgment on that,"
he said.
The 6-foot-2 senior finished with 11 points
as the only ISU starter in double figures. Block also had two
rebounds, two assists and four turnovers in 35 minutes. Berry
and Broermann led the Sycamores with 12 points each. Korver was
Creighton's lone double-figure scorer with 20 points, to go with
eight rebounds, two assists and five turnovers. Creighton's Brody
Deren and ISU's Djibril Kante had nine rebounds each.
While Waltman wasn't satisfied with his team's
defense of Korver, a 6-7 forward, Korver wasn't happy with his
own job of guarding Broermann. The Sycamore 3-point ace hit four
of five shots from beyond the arc, including ISU's last go-ahead
basket.
"I stepped off him just enough for him
to hit that shot," Korver said. "That was my fault."
Broermann thought that shot was the game-winner.
"When that went down, that put us up, and I thought we were
going to have it," Broermann said.
He had to leave Sunday's 87-84 overtime loss
at Wichita State early because of back pain, and did not practice
Monday or Tuesday.
"He didn't practice the last few days,
and we thought he wouldn't play. And then in walk-through [practice
on Wednesday] he got loosened up a little bit," Waltman
said. "And daggone, when he was left open he hit some shots
for a guy who's struggling so much physically."
Now the Sycamores, with losses in eight of
their last nine games, try again Saturday when they play host
to Illinois State at 4:05 p.m. Waltman has seen progress in that
stretch, but said it's not been enough.
"There's tremendous progress. But we're
not taking clarinet lessons. We're playing competitive basketball,
and you need to win," Waltman said. "I just feel so
bad for the kids."
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