By Mark Bennett
Since basketball debuted at Indiana State
University in 1896, no Sycamore ever connected on more 3-point
goals in one game than Matt Broermann made Wednesday night in
Hulman Center.
Even the great Larry Bird never did, although
that's an unfair comparison. Bird never had a chance at the record,
because the 3-point line did not exist in college basketball
during his ISU career in the late 1970s.
But Broermann had the chance, playing all
40 minutes with usual starters Kelyn Block and Terence Avery
sidelined by injuries, and he took advantage of it.
The 6-foot-5 sophomore from Hamilton, Ohio,
bombed in eight 3-pointers -- four in each half -- to tie the
ISU record owned by Jeff Lauritzen (1988), Travis Inman (1992)
and Chad Adkins (1999).
But Broermann, who finished with a game-high
24 points, was not all smiles afterward.
"It would have felt a lot better if we
had got the 'W,' " he said after the Sycamores lost a 64-63
nail-biter to Wichita State in Missouri Valley Conference action.
Entering Wednesday with 13-for-49 shooting
(26.5 percent) from 3-point range in 14 previous games, Broermann
hit four of his first five attempts from trey land and caused
his confidence to grow in the process.
"Obviously, my shot was feeling pretty
good tonight," he said. "I got some good looks. The
guys found me open a lot."
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Indiana State Coach Royce Waltman mentioned
how he told former ISU standout Michael Menser, now a radio broadcaster
for WSDM-FM 97.7, before Wednesday's game that he wondered "if
people are ever going to see how well this guy [Broermann] shoots
the ball."
Little did Waltman know, 4,721 people in attendance
got to see it Wednesday.
"He has times like that in practice,"
the veteran coach said. "One reason he doesn't do that often
in games is because people [from other teams] know that and they
chase him and don't let him pop out for the shot very often."
Wichita State Coach Mark Turgeon admitted
that he assigned a "lesser defender" to guard Broermann
early in the contest.
"Matt was great tonight," Turgeon
acknowledged. "He made a lot of tough shots."
One of Broermann's three misses from behind
the long-range arc occurred with three seconds left in the game
and his team trailing 64-63. His potential game-winner from the
right side bounced long off the rim, although ISU got the rebound
and later managed another field-goal attempt from a shorter distance
by Jake Sams before the buzzer sounded.
"I had the open look," Broermann
said of his last 3 try. "It was just one of those times
it didn't fall."
Sams, a freshman, sounded impressed by Broermann's
marksmanship, although he wasn't shocked.
"He was definitely keeping us in the
game," Sams said. "He made them pay for every one of
their mistakes He's that good of a shooter. He's done that in
practice a lot. It all came together for him in the game tonight."
"It was the kind of effort that should
have gotten us the win," Waltman added dejectedly.
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