Memorable Moments in Sycamore Basketball History
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Memorable Moments In Sycamore Basketball History Purdue at Indiana State and Bradley’s Roger Phegley. The Sycamores Drake vs. Indiana State December 14, 1973 won the game 88-81 as Bird fired in 33 points January 18, 1997 This game represented the Hulman and hauled down 14 rebounds. ISU went on to While the Sycamores’ defeated Drake, 76- Center’s coming out party. play New Mexico State and Creighton in the 64, what made this home game special was An estimated crowd of 9,000 fans watched tournament, finally losing to the Bluejays, 54- the heroic rebounding effort of Jim Cruse. The Indiana State play its first-ever basketball 52. Indiana State eventually took part in the NIT Terre Haute native grabbed a school-record game at Hulman Center against Purdue. The postseason tournament, losing to Rutgers 57- 25 rebounds - a record which has yet to be Sycamores dropped an 81-69 decision, as John 56 in the semifinals. topped. Cruse, who was the MVC’s rebounding Garrett tossed in 26 points and grabbed 11 leader the previous season, went on to lead the rebounds for the Boilermakers. Frank Kendrick Indiana State at New Mexico State Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding for added 20 points and 10 boards for Purdue. February 1, 1979 a second-consecutive year. His 10.6 rebound The Sycamores were led by Carl Macon The Sycamores’ perfect 18-0 record was average was also the last time that a Valley and Rick Williams, who each scored 22 points. on the line as Indiana State trailed, 83-81, with member averaged better than 10 boards per Macon also had nine rebounds for ISU. just three seconds remaining in regulation game. time. And, to make matters bleaker, the Purdue at Indiana State Aggies were at the free throw line. They Indiana State at Indiana November 27, 1977 missed the shot, however, and the rebound December 11, 1999 Bird’s junior year. The Larry and Harry was controlled by Sycamores’ center Brad The Sycamores carried a record of just 4-4 (Morgan) Show. Indiana State’s fans have been Miley. Miley’s outlet pass went to Bob Heaton, into the Championship Game of the Indiana revved up about this game for weeks. who launched a 50-foot desperation heave Classic. The 15th-ranked Hoosiers, meanwhile, Purdue’s Boilermakers featured the likes at the bucket. The shot banked through the were undefeated in 52 previous Indiana Classic of future NBAers Joe Barry Carroll and Jerry net, sending the game into overtime and an games. The Sycamores fell behind, 10-2, before Sichting. Indiana State started a junior college eventual 91-89 Indiana State victory. Heaton using a 12-2 run to go ahead, 14-12. And they transfer by the name of Leroy Staley at guard. would forever be known as the “Miracle Man’. never trailed again. Indiana State, which held In the end it was no contest as the Sycamores rolled to a 91-63 win over their cousins from Wichita State at Indiana State the Big Ten. February 24, 1979 Bird was remarkable. The “Hick from French Larry Bird’s last regular season home Lick” scored 26 points, grabbed 17 rebounds game. A national television audience (NBC) and dished out eight assists. Staley added 22 and commentator Al McGuire -- watched as ISU points and Morgan chipped in with 18. toppled Wichita State, 109-84. The Sycamores But what people remember the most about were undefeated and ranked No. 2 nationally. this game was the confrontation between A win over the Shockers and losses by Notre Purdue’s Carroll and ISU’s 7-foot backup center Dame and UCLA would move Indiana State Richard Johnson. Carroll had been doing a into the Number 1 ranking in the country. A number on Indiana State’s starting center blizzard outside didn’t stop a sellout crowd DeCarsta Webster early in the contest. from filling Hulman Center to capacity. Larry Johnson was inserted into the lineup to Legend scored a career-high 49 points. Need try and slow the Purdue center down a bit. He we say more? accomplished that quickly with an elbow to the face of Carroll while both were scrambling Indiana State vs. Arkansas for a rebound. The Boilermaker pivotman was March 17, 1979 controlled the rest of the game. The Sycamores cruised into the Midwest Regional Final, dispatching Virginia Tech and Bradley vs. Indiana State Oklahoma, meeting Arkansas with a Final March 1, 1978 Four berth on the line. With the game tied, A Missouri Valley Conference postseason 81-81, Bob Heaton lived up to his ‘Miracle tournament game featuring ISU’s Larry Bird Man’ moniker. The Clay City, Ind., native drove the lane and, as time expired, the right- Kelyn Block’s 21-point outing against Bradley handed Heaton switched the ball to his left in the MVC Finals helped give Indiana State the 2001 MVC Tournament Championship. hand, sinking the game winner as the buzzer sounded. the Hoosiers scoreless over the game’s final Indiana State vs. Michigan State 2:54, led, 61-60, when Kelyn Block stole the ball March 26, 1979 from the Hoosiers’ Michael Lewis, drawing a Indiana State vs. Michigan State. Larry foul. Block hit both ends of the one-and-one Bird vs. Ervin “Magic” Johnson. The Sycamores’ to seal the victory. Nate Green, Matt Renn and carried an unblemished 33-0 record into the Michael Menser were named to all-tournament National Championship game but would run team, with Green earning Indiana Classic MVP out of miracles, hitting an uncharacteristic 42 honors percent from the field, falling to the Spartans by a 75-64 count. But this contest, the most- Eastern Illinois at Indiana State watched game in college basketball history, December 19, 1999 Two of the top four most memorable games in will forever be thought of as being the game What began as a low-scoring contest (it Hulman Center history pitted the Sycamores against which elevated college basketball into the took the Sycamores nearly 35 minutes to tally the Wichita State Shockers. Here, Carl Nicks drives the national spotlight - an honor to which the 51 points) turned into a barnburner. Coming baseline during the 1979 contest. Sycamores will forever be linked. off the emotional Indiana game the previous Memorable Moments In Sycamore Basketball History week, the Sycamores found themselves facing a 14-point deficit with just 5:13 remaining. At that point, Indiana State proceeded to pour in 51 points over the remaining five minutes and two overtime periods to take a 102-91 victory. Nate Green, who poured in 14 points during the two overtime periods, tallied 45 points on the night, marking the Sycamores’ first 40-point outing in 15 years. Bradley at Indiana State February 29, 2000 It was a magical night in Hulman Center, as a feverish gathering of 8,738 partisan Indiana State fans, including Larry Bird, were on hand to witness what was hoped to be the Sycamores’ first MVC regular-season championship in 21 years. And the Sycamores didn’t disappoint. After falling behind by as many as nine points in the first half, ISU cut the deficit to three at the halftime break. After taking the lead for good, 47-46 on a Matt Renn jumper, the Sycamores built a seven-point cushion. Bradley fought back, only to come up short, however, as Rob Dye’s desperation jumper clanged off the rim at the buzzer, giving the Sycamores a 56-54 senior-night victory in the regionally-televised event. The Valley men’s basketball championship trophy was back home in Terre Haute. Indiana at Indiana State November 29, 2000 Call this one “Michael’s Miracle”, as Michael Menser seemingly single-handedly led the Sycamores to a 59-58 victory before a standing room- only crowd of 10,220 at ISU’s Hulman Center. With ISU trailing by four points, Menser hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 8.5 seconds remaining to pull the Sycamores to within one point. Indiana State then fouled Indiana’s Kirk Haston, who made the front end, but missed the second end of the one-and-one opportunity. Sycamore center Djibril Kante grabbed the rebound and fed Menser with the outlet pass. Menser raced up court and canned the game-winning trey with :0.05 seconds remaining. A last-ditch shot by Indiana wouldn’t fall, setting off a celebration which went long into the night. State Farm MVC Tournament March 2-5, 2001 The Sycamores captured the school’s first MVC Tournament Championship, and with it the Missouri Valley Conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, with a three-game run during the Valley tournament. While the Sycamores’ championship run wasn’t totally unexpected, what made it improbable was that ISU entered the MVC tourney having dropped six of its final eight regular season contests. Nonetheless, the Sycamores defeated Southern Illinois (67-64) in quarterfinal action. Michael Menser then scored a career-high 32 points in defeating top-seeded Creighton, 87-74. Kelyn Block then stepped into the spotlight, tallying a game-high 21 points during the Sycamores’ 69-63 win over the MVC finals. Block and Matt Renn earned all-tournament honors, while Menser was selected as the tourney’s Outstanding Player. Indiana State vs. Oklahoma March 16, 2001 No. 13 seed Indiana State won its first NCAA Tournament game since the 1979 season, overcoming a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat fourth-seed Oklahoma, 70-68, in overtime. Matt Renn tallied 22 points to lead the Sycamores, but it was Kelyn Block’s courageous performance which will last in the memories of Sycamore fans.