ISU Sycamores shock No. 16 Indiana 72-67

TERRE HAUTE, IN (12-6-2005) – The Indiana State Sycamores earned a 72-67 victory over No. 16 Indiana University in front of a sell-out crowd at Hulman Center on Tuesday night. The victory continues the hot start by the Sycamores who are now 4-0 for the first time in 20 years. The Hoosiers fall to 4-2 after dropping their second straight game in Terre Haute.

ISU was led by senior David Moss who posted 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists and junior Tyson Schnitker who also poured in 19 points behind five three-point shots. The Hoosiers were led by freshman Ben Allen with 21 points.

“It was a great win for us,” head coach Royce Waltman said. “Anytime you can beat a ranked team it’s special.”

The Hulman Center was filled to its 10,200 capacity and the crowd and momentum was on the Sycamore side for the first seven minutes of the game while the Sycamores built a 10-5 advantage.

Indiana battled back and tied the score at 16 at the 10:12 mark and for the next several minutes the lead would yo-yo back and forth. With 7:00 minutes remaining in the half the Hoosiers hit three consecutive three-pointers and began a rally at the end of the half to go into the locker rooms leading 35-30.

Allen was the star in the first half hitting 5-6 from the field, including a perfect 3-3 behind the arc to lead all scorers with 13. IU star Marco Killingsworth was held to only five points in the first half and proved mostly ineffective because of the combined defensive efforts of ISU big-men Trent Wurtz, Jay Tunnell and Mick Yelovich.

The second half did not begin in the Sycamore’s favor after a quick steal by Hoosier junior Roderick Wilmont that led to an easy lay-up. Indiana continued to roll with a 6-0 start in the half and built a double-digit lead 41-30, while Indiana State struggled to find their rhythm.

ISU hit their first bucket on a three-pointer from Schnitker after three minutes had ticked off the clock and the Sycamores began to chip away at the Hoosier lead. Indiana State began to build momentum and cut the lead to two with 15:28 on the clock, heading into a timeout 43-41.

Coming out of the break and following a few missed baskets, Schnitker hit another momentum-lifting three-point shot to take the lead 44-43 at 14:34. The Sycamores would not look back down the stretch and the crowd would become more and more of a factor as the home team built a game-high 11 point lead at the 5:55 mark 63-52.

The Hoosiers would once again make an attempt to relinquish the Sycamore lead and went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to bring the game within two, 63-61.

The lead was cut to one with :38 on the clock when IU senior Marshall Strickland hit two key free-throws to cut the lead to 66-65. On the ensuing in-bound play, the Sycamores caught the Hoosiers too far up the court and Moss’ baseball pass to Jay Tunnell set up a wide open Wurtz lay-up to set the crowd into a frenzy.

The throng was briefly lulled on a Moss foul and Hoosier junior Earl Calloway again cut the lead to one, 68-67 with :30 remaining in the game. ISU sophomore Gabe Moore made both free-throws on the quick foul on the inbound and Schnitker blocked the potentially game-tying three point attempt by IU’s Erreck Suhr as the crowd noise increased to a deafening pitch.

Following the block, Hoosier sophomore Robert Vaden came out of the scrum with the rebound and was fouled by Moss. However, Vaden couldn’t hit the free throw and it was Tunnell’s two shots from the charity stripe that sealed the 72-67 victory for the Sycamores and the team’s first win over a ranked opponent in four years.

“This was a great win, but we have bigger fish to fry,” Coach Waltman said. “The MVC is what really counts for us. When we go on the road in the Missouri Valley we will see how good we are.”

Game notes

ISU’s 4-0 start is its best since the Sycamores went 5-0 in 1985-86.

ISU head coach Royce Waltman is 3-2 against Indiana including 2-0 at the Hulman Center.

The victory over No. 16 Indiana is the Sycamore first win over a ranked opponent since a 70-68 OT win against No. 22 Oklahoma in the first round of the 2001 NCAA tournament (3-16-01).

The 10,200 capacity crowd is the first sell out at Hulman Center since the Sycamores last hosted the Hoosiers on Nov. 29, 2000.

Speaking of selling...

The Indiana State athletics department has announced a special Holiday Ticket Package, available through December 22. The new ticket package consisting of all nine home Missouri Valley Conference games can be purchased through the Hulman Center ticket office by calling 812-237-3737. Single seats are available $60 in the upper concourse and $200 in the lower concourse. Indiana State opens MVC play on Thursday, December 22 when ISU hosts the Illinois State Redbirds. Following a dramatic 72-67 win over No. 16/18 Indiana on Tuesday, the Sycamores are off to their first 4-0 start since the 1985-86 season.

Indiana State will be back on the court on Saturday against another in-state rival Ball State at 6:05 p.m., CST / 7:05 p.m., EST. USA-365.com provides live Internet audio streaming with Brian Fritz providing the play-by-play. The pre-game show starts at 5:45 p.m. (CST), with the tip-off set for 6:05 p.m., CST on www.USA-365.com.

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