Indiana Statesman

March 2nd, 2007

Sycamores Triumph Over Illinois State

By Ben Corn on March 2nd, 2007

Freshman guard Marico Stinson’s three-pointer with 14 seconds left in the game won the play-in game of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship for the Indiana State men’s basketball team.
The Sycamores will play the Creighton Bluejays in the second round of the tournament at 6 p.m. Friday.
After the first half, the Sycamores trailed by three points 34-31 to the Redbirds.
Freshman guard Osiris Eldridge led the Redbirds with 12 points and finished the game with a game-high 18 points.
Sophomore center Jay Tunnell led the Sycamores in the first half with 11 points aided by five-for-five shooting from the free throw line.
Tunnell said he was able to be effective in the first half due to the lack of double teaming by the Redbirds.
“They didn’t double as much and I got a couple of offensive rebounds, that always helps,” Tunnell said. “We’ve been making an effort to try to get it as deep as we can in the post and it’s been paying off for me and the rest of the guys getting easier buckets.”
Indiana State head coach Royce Waltman said he was pleased with the win because the Sycamores did not allow the Redbirds jump ahead in the second half after staying even in the first half.
“We did a good job of fighting back,” Waltman said.
In the second half, the Redbirds started with a nine to four run. Senior forward Greg Dilligard scored six points during that period. This put the Redbirds up by seven, 43-36.
The Sycamore trailed by 12 with 11:40 left in the second half after two free throws by Illinois State junior guard Boo Richardson.
The Redbirds then went on a cool streak and made only two of their next 12 field goals to end the game.
Sycamore senior forward Trent Wurtz sealed the deal by rebounding a missed Redbird field goal and then hitting one of his two free throws to put the Sycamores up by three with 1.3 seconds left.
Tunnell ended the game as the Sycamore high scorer with 16 points. He also led the team in rebounds with seven, four coming off the offensive glass.
Freshman guard Cole Holmstrom finished with 12 points and sophomore forward Adam Arnold and junior guard Gabe Moore each added 10 points.
Moore attributed the toughness of the team during the game to the fact it would be the last game of their season if they lose.
“Either you win or you go home,” Moore said. “Tonight, we didn’t want to go home.”
The Sycamores shot 43.8 percent from the field as opposed to Illinois State’s 42.6 percent.
Indiana State was able to convert on 77.3 percent of its free throw attempts, including a seven-for-eight effort in the first half.
The Sycamores shot 70 percent in the second half from behind the arc to make up for their 18.2 percent in the first half from downtown.
The 8,013 people in attendance at the game made up the highest total in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament history for an opening session crowd. The previous high was 7,343, which was set in 1998

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February 5th, 2007

2-5-07 pregame men’s bball vs. Northern Iowa

By Matt Douthett on February 5th, 2007

The Sycamores are desperately seeking a win after dropping seven straight games. ISU currently sits at 11-11 overall and 4-8 in the conference. Northern Iowa is 16-7 and 7-5 in the MVC.

ISU will need to stop the frontcourt tandem of Eric Coleman and Grant Stout. Coleman, who is short for a center at 6′6″ is still a good post presence who leads the Panthers with 13.6 points per game. Coleman is also a very strong rebounder who leads UNI with 9.5 rebounds per game. ISU will have to keep him off the boards.

Losing seven games in a row will hurt anyone’s confidence, but if the Sycamores can pull out a victory against the Panthers tonight, it will hopefully allow them to regain a little confidence and give them something to build off of as the end of the season is approaching.

Check back at halftime for another blog.

-Matt Douthett

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February 2nd, 2007

The eSpot for Feb. 2

By admin on February 2nd, 2007

Blog commenters unite!

Readers of the sports web site Deadspin.com unite to clog the new “ESPN Conversation” feature at ESPN.com. It’s a little like the French Revolution. Alright, not that much like it, but it’s still pretty cool.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force responsible for bomb scare

Marketing devices for the “Adult Swim” cartoon are mistaken for weapons in Boston. In a related story, “The Drizzle” is still at large.

Facebook adds security questions

Now, when writing in for assistance, FBers will be asked to answer their security question to verify they are the owner of the account. Of course, the answer to “Who was your first kiss?” is already the subject of a note of half the community.

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January 31st, 2007

The eSpot for Jan. 31

By admin on January 31st, 2007

Well, it’s been a spell since the eSpot showed its pretty little head. It’s back, and your life is once again complete

Results of ‘Top Chef’ finale leaked early

Spoilers abound as news breaks of one of the chefs quitting his day job before tonight’s denouement. We could tell you right now. Really.

The Associated Press’ cool younger sibling

This isn’t new, we think, but it’s the first we’ve stumbled across it.
Abso-frickin-amazing. Wire news for the short attention span set.

Harry Potter gets naked

Rather adult pictures of Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays everyone’s favorite boy wizard, have found their way to the ‘Net. They’re not from a sex tape, but publicity stills from a play he’s doing in England. Women and horses are involved, though.

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