March 2nd, 2007
pre-game Men’s basketball vs. Creighton
By on March 2nd, 2007
This tournament has been amazing and I’ll be here to bring you all the Sycamore action.
The thing with this Indiana State team is that they were losing because of a lack of confidence. So, they might be able to build off last night’s win to gain some confidence against the No. 2 Creighton.
Jay Tunnell was able to establish himself early last night so maybe he’ll have another great start. In all likelihood, though, the Bluejays will probably double team him, making somebody else open.
Should be a good game, I can’t wait for it to start.
Check back at half for halftime notes.
March 2nd, 2007
Sycamores Triumph Over Illinois State
By 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
February 5th, 2007
postgame, 2-5 men’s bball vs. Northern Iowa
By on February 5th, 2007
This was a game the Sycamores desperately needed to win, and they got it. A solid defensive performance and some hot second half shooting paced the Sycamores in a 59-46 victory over Northern Iowa.
ISU got off a slow start in the first half and were down 10-0. The Sycamores didn’t hit a shot for the first 7 minutes of the game until junior guard Gabe Moore nailed two three pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the lead 10-6.
Moore broke out of his recent slump, draining 6-10 treys for the game for 21 points overall.
Freshman walk-on Harry Marshall was impressive as well, recording 25 minutes of action and scoring 10 points. He also had two key steals on defense.
Hopefully the Sycamores can build off this game and start a winning streak.
That’s all for now.
-Matt Douthett
February 5th, 2007
2-5-07 pregame men’s bball vs. Northern Iowa
By 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
February 3rd, 2007
2-3-07 pregame men’s basketball vs. Missouri St.
By on February 3rd, 2007
The Sycamores are taking on the No. 3 in the MVC Missouri State Bears today in Hulman Center as the second game of Sycamore Hoopla.
The Sycamores are going to have to play well to beat the Bears. Missouri State is a very tough team that is averaging over ten points a game more than its opponents.
Missouri State falters on the road against MVC teams, though, as all Valley teams do. The Bears are 3-3 on the road in the conference.
The Sycamores need to find some stability. The fifth starter has been changing almost every game and that cannot be good, especially for such a young team. Also, even when on the bench, players are not seeing consistent minutes. Freshman guard Marico Stinson played in 13 minutes last game against Southern Illinois, and he is averaging over 25 minutes per game. While on minutes, Junior guard Gabe Moore has got to be getting tired, he is averaging 37.9 minutes per game this season.
I will not be able to do a halftime report because of laptop troubles, so you will just have to wait until after the game.
February 2nd, 2007
2-2-07, postgame ISU women vs. Southern Ill.
By on February 2nd, 2007
The ISU women’s basketball team was able to fend off the Southern Illinois Salukis and record a 74-69 victory.
This was a very impressive win for the Sycamores, to say the least.
Leah Phillips recorded a career-high 23 points for the Sycamores despite an injured thumb. She really jump started the ISU offense, which shot 58 percent in the first half.
The second half was a bit sloppy for the Sycamores, but they were still able to use some solid defense to hang on to the lead. It didn’t hurt that SIU committed 25, that’s right, 25 fouls which allowed ISU to go to the charity stripe 28 times. It’s hard to lose when you have that many chances at some easy points.
Another thing that impressed me was the games ISU’s freshmen players had coming off the bench, notably Maria Olsthoorn. In just 15 minutes of action, she recorded nine points and six rebounds. When you get that kind of production out of a freshman bench player, good things are bound to happen.
Laura Rudolphi also played a huge role in the ISU victory, recording 16 points and two blocked shots.
Well, that’s all for now. Look for another blog by me Monday when the men’s basketball team takes on Northern Iowa at 7:05 p.m.
-Matt Douthett
February 2nd, 2007
2-2-07 Halftime, ISU women vs. Southern Ill.
By on February 2nd, 2007
The score at halftime is 40-30 in favor of the Sycamores.
Sophomore guard Leah Phillips impressed me during the first half. She scored the first seven points for the Sycamores and really seemed to jump- start the offense. She is the leading scorer at halftime for the Sycamores with 10 points.
As I mentioned in my pre-game blog, SIU is a team that normally has a very good defense. A casual fan would not know that by watching this game.
A big reason the Sycamores have a 10-point halftime lead is that the Salukis committed 12 fouls in the first half.
Junior center Laura Rudolphi culminated a strong defensive showing from the Sycamores in the first half by swatting away a shot at the buzzer that could have cut ISU’s lead to eight.
Well, that is all for now. Check back in a while for a post-game blog.
-Matt Douthett
February 2nd, 2007
2-2-07 ISU women vs. Southern Ill. pre-game
By on February 2nd, 2007
Well, this is a strange feeling for me. I have not covered a women’s basketball game in almost two years. It’s good to be back.
The Salukis of Southern Illinois are off to a surprising 8-1 start in the Missouri Valley Conference after posting just a 4-7 non-conference record to start the season. SIU is second in the MVC behind Illinois State. The Salukis are on a six-game winning streak and have posted victories in nine of their last 10 games.
Carlai Moore, a 6-foot-1 senior forward paces the Salukis with 15.3 points per game. Just like the SIU men’s team, the women’s team prides itself on defense. They have only let one team (Northern Iowa in a 79-74 SIU victory) score over 70 points this season. An even more impressive statistic is that the Salukis have held opponents under 41 points three times this season.
The Sycamores are going to have to find a way to cut through the SIU defense with easy lay ups and good shot selection. Junior point guard Angela Phillips will need to do a good job of finding open Sycamores for easy baskets.
Well, it’s almost game time. See you at halftime.
-Matt Douthett
February 2nd, 2007
The eSpot for Feb. 2
By on February 2nd, 2007
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.
February 1st, 2007
Statesman Staffers pick Super Bowl winners
By on February 1st, 2007
I wanted to put this in the paper but didn’t have the room
Me: 21-13 Colts
Alex Brown, editor in chief: 24-19 Bears
Matt Douthett, staff writer: 31-27
Clay Cunningham, assistant news editor: 28-24 Bears
Jodi Lemmon, assistant features editor: 31-27 Colts
Lowell Torres, features editor: 34-27 Bears
Joel Dale, photo editor: 20-14 Colts
Rachel Turner, assistant sports editor: 28-13 Colts.
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- 3-9-07 Women's b-ball vs. Creighton pregame
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- final Men's b-ball vs. Crieghton 3-2
- halftime men's basketball vs. Creighton 3-2
- pre-game Men's basketball vs. Creighton
- Sycamores Triumph Over Illinois State
- postgame, 2-5 men's bball vs. Northern Iowa
- 2-5-07 pregame men's bball vs. Northern Iowa
- 2-3-07 pregame men's basketball vs. Missouri St.
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