Sycamore Men Roll Past Hanover/Sycamore Women Sunday loss to Saint Louis

Sycamore Men Roll Past Hanover in Regular Season Home Opener, 90-49

Credit Source: Indiana State University Athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State opened its regular-season home slate with a 90-49 victory over Hanover College Sunday afternoon at the Hulman Center. All 12 Sycamores that saw action scored a point as Indiana State improved to 2-1 on the season.

Senior Cooper Neese scored a game-high 20 points while adding eight rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Cameron Henry tallied the second double-double of the season for ISU as he scored 18 and grabbed 10 rebounds. Micah Thomas also scored in double-digits in his first career start with 15 points to go with two rebounds and two assists.

Henry, a Chesterfield, Va. native, ignited the Sycamores after a slow start as he drained four three-pointers while shooting 7-for-11 from the field in the 20 minutes of action to help the Sycamores take a 38-26 lead into the locker room.

ISU put on a shooting clinic in the second half of play, going 18-for-30 from the field while connecting on nine of their 15 shots from deep en route to a 52-23 second half performance.

Out of the break, ISU went on a 20-7 run to extend its lead to 25 points with 12 minutes remaining to play and the rest was history. Neese scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half after hitting five of his seven attempts while Thomas caught fire with 13 points in the final 20 minutes.

ISU continues to lower its turnover number as play continues, finishing with just 10 miscues over 40 minutes coming off a 12-turnover game against Purdue Friday.

The Sycamores won the battle of the boards 47 to 33 while dishing out 19 assists on 34 made baskets. Both Xavier Bledson and Neese led the team with four assists each. ISU scored 34 of its 90 points in the paint while holding Hanover to just 14 paint points.

Matt Munoz led Hanover with 10 points while Ty Houston chipped in nine for the Panthers.

Indiana State will hit the road for the next five games starting with three games at the Myrtle Beach Classic beginning Thursday. The Sycamores will play Old Dominion in the opening round of the tournament on ESPNU before taking on either East Carolina or Oklahoma Friday.

Folks with career effort in Sycamores Sunday loss to Saint Louis

 Saint Louis, Mo. – Adrian Folks’ career effort was not enough for Indiana State on Sunday afternoon as the Sycamores fell on the road to host Saint Louis inside Chaifetz Arena, 65-58.

 

Folks finished with a career-high 24 points on 9-of-22 field goals from the floor and added 10 rebounds for her fourth collegiate double-double in the loss. Folks had 16 points and nine rebounds at the break and provided the spark for the Sycamores (1-1) until a late fourth quarter 13-0 stretch helped the Billikens (1-1) pull away late.

 

Mya Glanton also added a career-high with nine points while adding five rebounds and a pair of assists in the loss. Del’Janae Williams added eight points and three rebounds for the Sycamores, while Caitlin Anderson contributed five points and a pair of steals.

 

Saint Louis was paced by Ciaja Harbison’s 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while Sevvall Gul added 14 points and eight rebounds in the win. Brooke Flowers added 12 rebounds and two blocked shots for SLU.

 

First Half

Indiana State held the early advantage through the first six minutes of the contest as the Sycamores went up 13-8 following a Folks three-point play. The Billikens took control from there with a 10-0 run utilizing four Sycamore turnovers over the stretch to go up 18-13. The teams swapped baskets down the stretch with Folks putting in the final four Indiana State points in the opening quarter to cut the lead down to 20-19 at the quarter break.

 

The Sycamores kept the contest within striking distances in the second quarter as Saint Louis’ lead never went more than six points at the 7:53 mark on a Sevval Gul layup to put the Billikens ahead 25-19. Folks and Del’Janae Williams answered the SLU post on each basket to keep the game within reach before Natalia Lalic connected on a three-pointer from the right wing to put the score at 29-27 SLU with 2:28 left in the half. Mya Glanton and Folks both provided late baskets in the paint for ISU as the teams headed into the half with the Sycamores trailing 34-31.

 

Second Half

Indiana State went on an early 8-0 run to take control of the third quarter as Glanton, Hunter, and Folks (twice) all connected on baskets to put the Sycamores ahead 39-38 with 5:44 remaining in the quarter. The Billikens answered with a Marisa Warren three-pointer putting SLU back in the lead as the teams continued to battle back-and-forth. Caitlin Anderson and Del’Janae Williams connected on back-to-back three-pointers to put the Sycamores back ahead by four and a late Anderson jumper in the paint gave ISU the 49-48 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

 

Folks scored four of the first six points in the fourth quarter to put the Sycamores ahead 53-50 with 7:19 remaining in the contest. From there, SLU went on a 13-0 run highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Gul and Ciaja Harbison as the Billikens went ahead 63-53 with 3:41 remaining in the contest. Anna McKendree connected on a deep three-pointer with 34 seconds left in the contest to end the Billiken run, but the Sycamores were unable to fight their way back in the 65-58 loss.

 

Inside the Statistics

• Indiana State shot 38.3% from the floor, 35.7% from the three-point line, and 70.0% from the free throw line in the loss.
• Saint Louis shot 43.4% from the floor, 46.7% from the three-point line, and 75.0% from the free throw line in the win.
• Saint Louis held the 39-33 rebound advantage, but Indiana State posted the 34-24 edge in points in the paint thanks to Folks’ big game.
• The Sycamores also had 11 steals that transitioned into five fast-break points in the contest.
• Indiana State’s defense forced 26 turnovers in the loss.

 

News & Notes

• Adrian Folks’s double-double was the fourth of her career and first since February 24, 2021 against Evansville. She posted 16 points and nine rebounds in a dominant first-half performance and carried it through on her way to finishing with
• Her 20-point game was also the second in her collegiate career and first since she scored 23 points and had 13 rebounds against the Aces in the aforementioned game.
• Folks’ career-highs also included made field goals (9) and field goal attempts (22).
• Mya Glanton’s nine points was a career-high for the redshirt sophomore eclipsing her mark previously set at six points on two separate occasions.
• Indiana State’s defense continues to wreak havoc on the opponents as ISU has forced 62 turnovers over the first two games of the season. The Sycamores have also posted 32 steals over two games.

 

Up Next

Indiana State is back home on Wednesday, November 17, as the Sycamores welcome Eastern Illinois to Hulman Center for a midweek contest. Tipoff between the Sycamores and the Panthers is set for 6 p.m. ET and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.