By Mark Bennett
CHARLESTON, ILL. -- In a heartbeat, a pounding
heartbeat, the game slipped away from the Indiana State Sycamores.
Eastern Illinois guard Henry Domercant blocked
a potential go-ahead layup by ISU senior Djibril Kante with eight
seconds remaining in this college basketball border rivalry,
triggering a breathtaking final play. Domercant rebounded Kante's
deflected shot, passed the ball to teammate Craig Lewis, who
dribbled the length of the floor, fed the ball to center Jesse
Mackinson, who glided in for a game-winning layup at the buzzer.
Apparently.
The Panthers (3-3) won 52-50 as Lantz Arena
went wild. The bedlam, though, also included a heated challenge
to the final play by Sycamore Coach Royce Waltman. Because the
finish included a buzzer-beating basket in a televised game,
officials are obliged to review the final shot under new NCAA
rules, Waltman contended, not only to see if the layup was good
but also to see if any time actually remained afterward. He wanted
EIU administrators to ask the officials to make that review,
and punctuated his request with a slap of the scorer's table.
His request was declined because officials
have to decide to review a play on their own, said Panther Athletic
Director Rich McDuffie. "They manage the game," he
said. "We don't have anything to do with it."
Afterward, WTWO broadcaster Jason Pensky said
their tapes appeared to show 0.3 seconds left to play as Mackinson's
shot fell through the net. The basket, though, was good, Waltman
conceded later.
"They made a great play, and they won
the game and the shot was good," Waltman said. "But
there's a lot less bad taste in people's mouth if you just follow
that simple rule, and then know that either we had another three
seconds to throw the ball down the court, or it was good, or
whatever. And that's all that bothers me. They just refused to
follow the rule.
"I don't think that's criticizing the
officials. I know that's against the rules," he added. "You
can comment on the president of the United States, you can comment
on the pope, but you can't comment on the officials. But I think
commenting on the rules is OK, and that's the rule."
Domercant, who finished with a team-high 17
points, said that last play was practiced. "I was just hoping,
if they missed the shot, I would be the one to get the rebound
and make the play," he said. And that's what happened.
His block of Kante's shot, Domercant said,
was clean. "I didn't think I got him. I thought it was pretty
clean. I don't think he saw me."
Sycamore center Terence Avery, who came off
the bench to score a career-high 29 points and equal his career
best with 12 rebounds, said the ISU players hesitated after the
block because they were expecting a foul call. "I think
everybody was surprised there was no call, and we didn't get
back in time," Avery said.
The loss dropped the Sycamores to 0-4 going
into Saturday's 2:05 p.m. game against IUPUI in Hulman Center.
ISU hasn't been 0-4 since the 1993-94 season, when the Sycamores
finished 4-22.
Avery and the Sycamores were hoping for a
better outcome, especially after their closest brush with victory
after losing their first three games by an average of 70-52.
"Some guys made some big plays down the
stretch, and we were a team again," Avery said. "And
it's just a shame we lost."
Hot stretches by the opponents all but buried
the Sycamores in three earlier losses. Their first taste of adversity
came quickly Wednesday night.
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| Tribune-Star/Joseph
C. Garza |
| Got it: Indiana State sophomore
guard Marcus Howard (center) reaches for a rebound over the Eastern
Illinois defense during Wednesday's game against the Panthers
in Lantz Gymnasium at Charleston, Ill. |
A free throw by Avery had tied the game at
10-10 with 9 minutes and 16 seconds left in the first half. Then
the smallest player on the court, 5-foot-9 Panther guard Chris
Herrera, pried his way through the Indiana State defense. Herrera
sank a 3-pointer. And then on Eastern Illinois' next possession
Herrera grabbed a teammate's missed shot in traffic and put the
ball back in the hoop. EIU's J.R. Reynolds added a layup, and
then stole a Sycamore pass and threw the ball to Herrera for
a fastbreak basket.
Suddenly, the Panthers led 19-10.
ISU's Kelyn Block responded with a 3-pointer,
his only first-half basket. Avery scored the Sycamores' final
six points before halftime, and ended up with a near-double-double
in the first 20 minutes. The 6-9, 240-pound senior had 11 points
and nine rebounds by the break.
But the Sycamores trailed 26-19 at that point,
even after sophomore guard Marcus Howard's defense had limited
Panther star Domercant to just three early points. Instead, Herrera
-- who came into the game averaging just 3 points a game -- led
EIU with 10 first-half points.
ISU's own early problems were familiar ones
in the perplexing 2001-02 season -- inaccurate shooting and turnovers.
The Sycamores hit just eight of their 30 first-half shots. They
were 1 for 11 from 3-point range. And ISU had 11 first-half turnovers.
This time, though, there was no second-half
collapse by the Sycamores. After Eastern Illinois surged to a
36-27 lead, ISU went on a 13-3 run to tie the game at 40-40 with
7:07 left to play. Meanwhile, the Sycamore defense held the Panthers
without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes.
That set up the tight finish.
Avery hit two big three-point plays in the
last four minutes. His second, a one-handed bank shot, tied the
game at 50-50, seconds after Domercant hit a 17-foot jumpshot.
And when Herrera missed a 3-pointer in response, the Sycamores
came down court to try for a game-winner. ISU freshman point
guard Lamar Grimes grabbed the ball and whipped it to Kante on
the left baseline, and Domercant blocked his shot.
Block finished with eight points, while Kante
had five points and five rebounds. No other Sycamores topped
five points. But the Sycamores' shooting improved to 42 percent
in the second half, and they committed just seven second-half
turnovers. And they also outrebounded EIU 40-31.
Those numbers weren't of much consolation
in the ISU lockerroom, though.
"We competed better. I'm just so frustrated
over this losing," Waltman said. "I'd be out of line,
though, if I didn't say our guys not only competed, but they
also made plays down the stretch."
Game notes --
Waltman juggled his starting lineup, using Howard, Block and
freshman Lamar Grimes at guard, freshman Jake Sams at forward
and Kante at center.
Kante survived a scary second-half tumble
over a scoretable along the sidelines. The Sycamore senior did
a painful roll over the table, falling feet-first into the first
few rows of fans. One Panther fan suffered a cut nose and broken
glasses when Kante collided with him.
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