By Mark Bennett
If it's not one thing, it's the other.
First, the Indiana State Sycamores were getting
virtually all their scoring and rebounding from seniors Kelyn
Block, Djibril Kante and Terence Avery in hefty losses to Illinois-Chicago
and Valparaiso. Then Sunday at Butler, sophomore Matt Berry and
freshman Jake Sams outscored the entire starting lineup with
a combined 28 points, and the Sycamores lost again 69-49.
So in tonight's 8:10 p.m. game at Eastern
Illinois, Kante hopes all the Sycamores contribute heavily. Such
balance could avert another second-half collapse. ISU led Valparaiso
32-29 at halftime and lost 71-54. And the Sycamores trailed just
42-39 at Butler with 13 minutes to play before the Bulldogs steamrolled
them. Block and Kante scored just two points each.
"We just have to keep that motor running.
In the past, we had problems with the freshmen and the younger
guys picking it up. And in the last game, Kelyn and I didn't
really come out and do our thing," Kante said before Tuesday's
practice in Hulman Center. "We have to just put it all together."
Such a recovery is exactly what worries Eastern
Illinois Coach Rick Samuels. His Panthers returned from the Las
Vegas Invitational with a 2-3 record, while the Sycamores are
0-3.
"They're dangerous right now, because
they're a team trying to find themselves and they're better than
their start shows," Samuels said of the Sycamores.
He's concerned about having to defend Block,
a Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference first-teamer. The
6-foot-3, 200-pound Kansan is averaging only nine points per
game, but also averages six rebounds and four assists.
"Kelyn Block's been a thorn in our side
every time we've played," Samuels said. "He's a very
dangerous player."
And he's also impressed by Avery's numbers
-- a team-high 10.3 points per game, to go with 5.3 rebounds.
Kante can score too, having totaled 13 points and 13 rebounds
against Valparaiso. And sophomore guard Marcus Howard averaged
10.4 points in five postseason games last season.
"There's a lot of good pieces there,"
Samuels said. "They just have to put them together."
That's been tricky so far. Tonight, Sycamore
Coach Royce Waltman will likely start Block, Avery, Howard and
Berry, while either Sams or Kante could play the fifth spot.
Kante has been nagged by an ankle sprain since the Valparaiso
game.
Tuesday, Kante insisted he'll be available
to start and added, "I'll be fine."
The only things that could slow the 6-8, 245-pound
Kante are his ankle problem and foul trouble. That combination
limited Kante to 16 minutes of action at Butler. Waltman hopes
to have Kante back on the floor tonight for more than his current
25-minutes-per-game average.
That might help against Eastern Illinois,
a team that won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last season
before losing to Arizona in the NCAA Tournament's first round.
The last time ISU and EIU met, the Sycamores won a 102-99 double-overtime
thriller in Hulman Center. Indiana State trailed by 17 points
with five minutes remaining in regulation in that game.
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| Tribune-Star/Joseph
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| Stopped: Indiana State's
Terence Avery (right) and Kelyn Block (center) try to stop Butler's
Brandon Miller on Sunday at Hinkle Fieldhouse. |
This season, the Sycamores have been unable
to overcome deep deficits. Confident shooting and passing are
remedies, Waltman said.
"We have got to continue to work on our
offense to where our guys have a little more assurance to what
they're doing," he said.
At Butler, Sams and Berry showed some assurance.
Sams nailed three 3-pointers, and Berry scored ISU's final 10
points.
"They're the ones that kept us in the
game and kept it going and kept it close," Kante said. "Usually
it's Kelyn and Terence and people like that -- we have to keep
it close. With them doing it, that shows if they come and we
come, we can put a good team together."
Block liked his young teammates' poise too.
"They kind of relaxed and had a good game," he said.
Block hit just one of nine field goal attempts
and didn't get to the free throw line. But as ISU continues to
find a replacement for the graduated Michael Menser's ball-handling,
Block has absorbed most of the point guard duties in the last
two games. That has forced him to find other ways to score than
his usual catch-and-drive slashes toward the basket.
"I just have to maneuver myself to catch
the ball and get into scoring position," Block said.
Howard is quickly becoming able to handle
point guard situations more often, along with freshman Lamar
Grimes, Block added, which could free Block up in more of a shooting
guard role tonight.
"Me being out and running will kind of
loosen the guys up, and I can help them on offense," Block
said. "Maybe some of the guys will loosen up and get more
opportunities out of that."
Whatever the roles, a team effort could reverse
the Sycamores' fortunes, Kante said. They could be 3-0, rather
than 0-3.
"If we could finish the game, in all
three of them I don't doubt that we could've [won]," he
said. "That's why I'm not down about this year yet. We've
shown that we can hang with around teams and fight and play with
them. I'm not happy where we're at, but I'm looking forward to
our chance in the future."
And he intends to pass that optimism on to
his teammates, just as Menser and Matt Renn used to do.
"Always, you have to look at the older
guys. Last year, it was Michael and Matt that brought us together,"
Kante said. "Matt always would come into the huddle, get
us going, get us ready to play, tell us we're the best team still
regardless of what happened. The players on the court now have
to still realize that. It's up to me, Kelyn and Terence to make
sure that they know that this team is still good."
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