Swope, Sycamores add another chapter to '50 Years of Hulman Center'

Jan. 13—Celebrating 50 years of Hulman Center while trying to loosen up a five-team logjam atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings, Indiana State men's basketball threw a shot party for 5,963 warmth-seeking spectators on a frigid Saturday afternoon.

Fortunately for ISU fans, the Sycamores brought more treys and served them up with greater accuracy than Belmont in a dominating 94-64 victory that placed coach Josh Schertz's crew back on top alone — at least temporarily — in the MVC standings.

ISU guard Isaiah Swope played the role of "host with the most" — hitting his first six 3-pointers and finishing 8 of 11 from long distance, good for a team-high 24 points — and all four other starters scored in double figures as the Sycamores improved to 14-3 overall and 5-1 in the MVC.

"I just want to thank the crowd," Schertz told reporters afterward. "I thought the crowd was amazing. ... We've made Hulman Center a harder place to play [for opponents]. We needed that because we were a little tired coming back from that trip to Iowa [where the Sycamores knocked off Northern Iowa and lost at Drake]. They really juiced us."

Before the game, the university honored the recently passed Eric Curry — a player on ISU's 1978-79 NCAA runner-up men's basketball squad that finished 33-1 — with a moment of silence. And during breaks in the first half and at halftime, the university introduced its ISU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024 inductees — Jenny Folz (women's track and field, unable to attend); Dr. Cathy Baker (athletic administration); Frankie Young (men's track and field); teary-eyed Megan Stone (softball); and Anton Hulman Jr. (donor, deceased, represented by family).

"We're glad that we could make it a positive memory [for the Hall of Famers]," Schertz said.

As for Hulman Center being a half-century old?

"This place is an amazing facility," Schertz emphasized. "It's got incredible history and tradition. Indiana State itself, the basketball program ... I feel incredibly lucky to be the caretaker of this program."

Also before the game, when Indiana State players were practicing 3-point shots with nobody guarding them, they had a stretch of sinking an unimaginable number in a row — probably 16 to 20 — although a certain reporter didn't think to start counting.

Would similar marksmanship continue into the game?

Well, not quite so perfect. But the Sycamores were pretty dependable at all levels of shooting against Belmont, which entered Saturday tied with ISU, Drake, Southern Illinois and Murray State at 4-1 for the top spot in league play.

They made 55 percent from the field (33 of 60), 48.5 percent from 3 (16 of 33, three shy of tying the school record for most made in a game) and 92.3 percent on free throws (12 of 13). Swope fell one 3-pointer short of matching the Sycamores' single-game record of nine set by Marico Stinson against Drake in December 2006 and tied by Cooper Neese against Belmont in March 2023.

Meanwhile, Belmont's usual leading scorer — 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Malik Dia, who pumped in 32 points during a recent 87-65 win over Drake (the same Bulldogs who knocked off ISU 89-78 last Wednesday) and came in with an average of 18.0 points per outing — was held to 10 points Saturday. He also committed a game-high six turnovers.

Dia did put the Bruins on top 3-0 Saturday with a trifecta from the top of the arc, but ISU's Robbie Avila quickly answered by scoring six of his 10 points. Then three of his teammates put the icing on a 12-0 run with a reverse layin in traffic (Ryan Conwell), a two-hand dunk (Jayson Kent) and a nifty running one-hand jumper from the lane (Julian Larry).

The home squad boosted that 12-3 advantage to 20-8 (after a Swope right-wing 3), 28-13 (after another 3 by Swope) and 37-18 (after yet another bomb by Swope, this time from the left wing with 7:01 left in the first half).

"That was incredible," Schertz said about Swope's hot hand. "That created a separation [from Belmont]. ... He's an elite shooter. His guys got him great looks and he made them. That gave us a lot of confidence."

Belmont later pulled within 37-27, using a 9-0 run that culminated with a pair of free throws by Isaiah Walter at the 4:38 mark. But that was probably the last time Belmont fans felt any realistic hope of winning the contest.

The Trees answered with two free throws by Larry, a driving basket through traffic by Conwell and two freebies by Avila to hike their margin to 16 at 43-27. After the visitors' Jayce Willingham sank a pair of charity tosses, Kent went on a personal 5-0 run — a reverse layup followed by an and-one conversion — to raise ISU's bar to 48-29. A 3-point hoop by Belmont's Keishawn Davidson (followed by Davidson's midcourt 3 that didn't count because officials later ruled it occurred slightly after the buzzer) made the halftime score 48-32 in Indiana State's favor.

Although Davidson might have scared the forest of Sycamore faithful a little, there was no reason to be afraid.

By the time the second-half scoreboard read 15:33, the home team's lead had ballooned to 65-32 as the result of 17 unanswered points. Included in that insanely enjoyable outburst (for ISU fans) were 3s by Conwell, Larry, Conwell again and Masen Miller and another thunderous two-hand dunk by Kent.

The Sycamores' margin grew to 38 (92-54) with 4:27 remaining when substitute Derek Vorst converted a three-point play.

In addition to Swope's and Avila's point totals, Kent ended up with 19, Conwell had 15 and Larry 12. The 6-10 Avila also contributed a game-high 11 boards as the Sycamores outrebounded the visitors 37-26.

"It felt good," Swope said about re-finding his hot shooting touch Saturday. "I know it's a long season. You just gotta stay the course. I've put in a lot of time and effort. ... It was fun to come out here and get a win."

Davidson was Belmont's top scorer with 12 points.

These same teams will face each other again Jan. 31 in Nashville, Tenn.

Two of the other pre-Saturday 4-1 MVC teams — Drake and Southern Illinois — squared off in a night matchup at Carbondale, Ill. Drake won 76-58 to create a much smaller logjam with ISU at the top.

At least that's easier to deal with than five teams.

I I I

—More about Megan — As mentioned earlier, new ISU Athletics Hall of Famer Megan Stone — a Fairbanks native who starred for North Central High School — showed emotion when she took her turn on the Hulman Center floor during a first-half break in the action.

"Today was one for the books," she admitted to the Tribune-Star later. "The best way I can explain it is when you're at the end of a movie saga and they play flashbacks of pivotal moments and instrumental people along the way.

"Needless to say, I wasn't expecting the reaction I received today and all I could think was 'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.'"

Then Stone jokingly acknowledged that she was "definitely crying."

"There is something to be said about this university and this community," she added. "Today gave me understanding of just how truly lucky and appreciative I am to be here."