Published: November 03, 2009 11:47 pm         

College hoops party: Sycamores’ athleticism, depth too much for Engineers

TERRE HAUTE — It was a good day for basketball in Terre Haute.

Indiana State’s men’s basketball team showed off their new look, its local players, its infusion of athleticism and most of all — its depth — in an 89-50 victory over Rose-Hulman in front of 4,812 fans at Hulman Center.

The Engineers had a rough go of it during the game itself, but were proud to get a chance to play their intracity Division I brethren for the first time since 1932.

“I thought it was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people here. I think we should do it again,” said Rose-Hulman forward Jason Haslag, who led the Engineers with 12 points.

It was a special moment for Rose-Hulman coach Jim Shaw, who had never coached in Hulman Center before.

“This is a second home to me. I’m a Hautean and I’ve been to a zillion games here. It’s a special thing for me and our kids really enjoyed it. It was nice to have a large Rose-Hulman contingent. Hopefully, the entire community enjoyed the game.”

While it was a celebration of college basketball in Terre Haute, there were a few kinks along the way.

ISU guard Rashad Reed — who had eight points in just seven minutes of action — injured his left knee in the first half after he leaped to try and block a shot by Rose-Hulman guard Blake Knotts. Reed flew off the floor and landed awkwardly on the hardwood just to the side of ISU’s bench. He was holding his knee and writhing in pain and was helped back to the trainer’s room.

The injury, however, is not believed to be serious. Reed was back on the bench shortly after the injury and was held out of action as a precaution.

“I think he just hyperextended it a bit. The doctor says it’s not too severe. He’ll sleep on it, get some on ice on it, they think he’ll be OK. We’re off tomorrow anyways, so we’ll see how he progresses so he can get ready for our opening game,” ISU coach Kevin McKenna said.

On another front, McKenna said there is no change in the status of the indefinite suspension levied to ISU guard Harry Marshall. The senior guard was at Hulman Center and watched the game from the student section, but was not with the team during or after the game.

In the end, ISU’s depth was too much for the Engineers as both ends. Rose-Hulman made just 5 of 26 from the field in the first half, while the Sycamores shot 62.1 percent from the field on their way to a 46-17 halftime lead.

The game itself became a rout midway through the first half when ISU imposed its will on the Engineers with its superior athleticism and defense. Leading 9-4, the Sycamores blocked three shots in the span of a minute, fueling what became a 13-0 run to pull ahead 22-4.

ISU kept the defensive pressure up — particularly swingman Dwayne Lathan, who ultimately had four steals.

“As you saw, they had so many blocks on us [ISU had eight blocks] and they caused turnovers with their length. That was a big key to our turnovers [Rose-Hulman had 17 turnovers] being so high,” Haslag said.

There were plenty of other bright spots for the Sycamores. Jake Kelly and Koang Doluony co-led ISU with 13 points, Kelly scored 10 of his at the free throw line. Lathan had 11 points, including three dunks in transition.

Freshman guard Jake Odum, who is playing for a shot at a roster spot this season, looked impressive in every facet. The Terre Haute native had 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. He did not look like someone making their collegiate debut.

“I wasn’t nervous, it was just another game for me,” Odum said. “I’m just a competitor. I want to earn my minutes and get some playing time. Every time I’m out on the floor I just leave it all out there.”

In addition to Haslag’s 12 points, Knotts added 10 points, though he had an off shooting night from beyond the arc, making just 2 of 8 from 3-point range. However, the Engineers shot 42.1 percent from 3-point range overall.

“I’m hoping [playing ISU] is like swinging a leaded baseball bat. When we play teams that are just like us, I hope we can swing that bat a little quicker,” Shaw said.

ISU next plays the University of Indianapolis on Saturday. The Greyhounds — coached by former ISU assistant Stan Gouard — already knocked off Valparaiso 88-83 on Sunday.

Despite encouraging performances from all of ISU youngsters, McKenna said no determination will be made on whether to redshirt players yet.

“Our next game will give us a better idea of that. Stan’s team beat Valpo, they’ll be more athletic, they’ll be quicker, they’ll be stronger, they’ll have some guys who can shoot, they’ll give us a better competitive game. We’ll get a better test and a better feel for who we really are,” McKenna said.

Rose-Hulman will scrimmage defending Division III national champion Washington University on Sunday.



Rose-Hulman 50

Player min fg 3pt ft r a pf tp

Haslag 28 4-8 3-4 1-3 1 2 1 12

Harlan 21 2-5 1-1 2-3 3 0 2 7

Knotts 24 2-12 2-8 4-4 5 2 2 10

McCartney 28 0-6 0-2 0-0 1 0 3 0

Ricks 13 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 2

Weathers 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Weatherford 14 2-3 1-1 0-0 1 0 2 5

Tuskan 21 3-5 1-1 0-0 2 2 2 7

Gissentanner 18 2-11 0-1 2-2 3 2 5 6

Kieman 5 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1

Sanders 7 0-0 0-0 0-1 3 0 0 0

Gerken 14 0-2 0-1 0-0 2 0 2 0

Balsbaugh 6 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Totals 16-56 8-19 10-15 26* 10 20 50

Indiana State 89

Player min fg 3pt ft r a pf tp

Richard 17 3-4 1-1 0-0 6 3 1 7

Leitnaker 9 1-1 0-0 4-4 0 1 1 6

Reed 7 3-5 2-4 0-0 3 1 0 8

Lathan 20 5-9 0-0 1-2 2 2 2 11

Printy 22 3-5 2-4 0-0 3 4 0 8

Doluony 22 4-7 3-5 2-2 3 1 4 13

Lu. Eitel 18 1-2 1-2 1-2 3 2 1 4

Crawford 12 1-1 0-0 0-0 5 2 1 2

Lo. Eitel 7 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 2

Odum 23 4-6 2-3 0-1 6 3 0 10

Martin 10 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 4 2

Mahurin 8 1-2 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 3

Kelly 25 2-8 0-2 9-10 7 1 2 13

Totals 30-54 12-22 17-21 44* 20 17 89

Halftime score — ISU 46, RHIT 17. FG Pct. — RHIT .286, ISU .556. 3-pt FG Pct. — RHIT .421, ISU .545. FT Pct. — RHIT .667, ISU .810. Turnovers — RHIT 17, ISU 19. Steals — RHIT 4 (Knotts, Tuskan, Gissentanner, Gerken), ISU 9 (Lathan 4). Blocks — RHIT 2 (Haslag, Weatherford), ISU 8 (Crawford 3). (*) Team Rebounds — RHIT 3, ISU 3. Att — 4,812.

Next — ISU plays host to Indianapolis on Saturday. Rose-Hulman plays at Millikin on Nov. 15.