The USI men’s basketball team hosted the Indiana State Sycamores Monday night to a rambunctious crowd of 2,351 Screaming Eagles. Last season, the Sycamores blew out the Screaming Eagles by a score of 98-54, so to say this game was personal for those on last year’s team is an understatement.
One of those players, Jack Campion, junior guard, acknowledged last year’s loss.
“They kind of embarrassed us a little at their place last year, so we knew we had to come back and take advantage of this one at home,” Campion said.
That home advantage would certainly matter in this one.
Fans were ready from the tip, especially the students’ section, which really impressed me tonight. Some made signs taking jabs at departures from Indiana State University’s basketball team, which saw four new coaches and 11 new players last year.
USI entered the game 2-4, following a much-needed win against the University of South Dakota. Meanwhile, Indiana State University was slightly better, with a record of 3-2. This game would have the making of a classic.
During the shoot-around, I noticed that Alex Horiuk, junior center, did not participate in warmups, which concerned me. USI is already pretty tight at the big man position. He sustained a shoulder injury in the previous game, and I deduced that it must be related. This would require Jadyn Shider, junior forward/center, to be thrust into action as a reserve.
USI once again started a lineup of Campion; Damoni Harrison, junior guard; Jayland Randall, junior guard; Jack Mielke, graduate forward; and Stephen Olowoniyi, sophomore forward. This lineup has strengths and weaknesses, as Olowoniyi gives them a bit of speed and allows them to run the floor with his athleticism and quick-minded defense. However, his size at 6 foot 8 inches can be a weakness against taller bigs. That said, he seemed to hold his own tonight, so perhaps he’s building confidence on the defensive end.
To open the game, USI came out hot, opening up on an 8-0 run with threes from Campion and Randall, while Olowoniyi got a tip in for a second chance attempt. They kept the energy going and played exquisite defense, which led to these opportunities, one of which occurred at 16:45, where Randall stole the ball and found Olowoniyi for a fastbreak jam to rile up the crowd to take a 10-3 lead. However, Indiana State University began to settle in and hit some shots to cut the lead to three.
About midway through the first half, Jared Washington, junior guard, made a massive impact by stealing the ball twice in one minute, which led to buckets by Randall and himself.
Another impactful substitution would be the freshman guard, Josiah Dunham, who Stan Gouard, men’s basketball head coach, has a significant amount of trust in, and rightly so. Following a quick five points from Randall, Campion passed the ball up the court to Dunham, who shot an “Oh no! Oh yeah!” fast-break three-pointer that shook the building and brought the lead to 11 points, forcing a timeout. His confidence is definitely building already; he will be a weapon for Gouard for years to come.
USI continued to hold the double-digit lead during crunchtime of the first half, with two buckets from Harrison, a bucket from Washington and two free throws from Braxton Jones, junior guard.
However, it would be Campion who would close out the half with the final say, as he established a beautiful set. He began by motioning Mielke to shift to the right-hand side of the court, forcing Mielke’s defender to the strong side of the basketball court, where there are more defenders present. This shift allowed Campion to take his man on one-on-one and hit a mid-range jumper on the weak side, where there were fewer defenders to hit a nice mid-range jumper, leaving minimal time on the clock for the other team.
To open the second half, the Sycamores played more inspired basketball, which saw them cut the lead to five points within the first three minutes. However, Mielke would begin to catch fire from deep, hitting two three-pointers, one of which brought the lead back to eight points.
Unfortunately, USI began to become careless with handling the ball, which led to turnovers and easy points for Indiana State University. Eventually, the Sycamores, who had been cold from three-point range in the first half, would begin to see them fall, one of which cut the deficit to a mere three points.
Not to be deterred, USI weathered this storm. Scores from Sam Kodi, junior guard, and Dunham, combined with a three-pointer from a now-hot Mielke, helped cushion the lead as time began to tick.
The Sycamores still had fight in them, as they cut the deficit to four with just over four minutes remaining, but the Screaming Eagles wanted the win more, led by back-to-back three-pointers from Jack Campion and Jack Mielke to all but seal the victory. Some late-game free throws were made from Mielke, Randall, and Campion, and just like that, USI won their second in a row, defeating a favored Indiana State University by a score of 87-77.
Takeaways:
This is one of those Championship DVD games that will end up being more important than just the number in a win column. I cannot stress that this win is massive for this team. The guys are playing hard on both ends of the floor. The team is really deep at wings, which will give them a massive advantage. Randall, Harrison, and Washington are all guys who can hit shots and be active on defense. Harrison had four steals tonight, while Randall and Washington had three apiece.
Olowoniyi continues to impress and, quite frankly, makes me look smart, as I predicted he would be an incredibly impactful defensive player. However, offensively, he has more than what I expected, and perhaps if he can get a mid-range jumper, he could be the whole package. Tonight, he had 16 points, eight rebounds, and two steals and kept his guy in check. To say I’m ecstatic with his play is an understatement.
Mielke had a solid game. He scored 14 points, hit a couple of threes, grabbed eight rebounds, and defended well, playing as a stretch-five sometimes as well. His leadership continues to be a massive presence on the team, something that transcends the stat sheet.
Campion, once again, was excellent with another nine-point, nine-assist and zero-turnover game.
He said the team has been moving the ball better on offense, pushing the pace and running in transition when possible.
Defensively, he’s been allowed to be fully on display, especially with Harrison and Jayland by his side. He said that despite his smaller size, he feels like he can be a pest on defense and really make a difference on that side of the ball.
Earlier in the season, I questioned whether or not he should have been the starting point guard, but recently, he has really stepped up his game. I no longer question his spot on the team. Credit to him for proving me wrong.
Another player who stood out defensively was Washington, who has really found a nice role as a sixth man on this team. He brings a great level of energy on offense, but especially on defense.
After the game, he said his defense comes from his upbringing and where he grew up.
“Defense has always been instilled in me,” Washington said. “I consider myself a dog. You know, I play with a chip on my shoulder, just being from Arlington, Texas. Being a Texas kid, a Dallas Metro kid, you got to fight for everything that you want.”
He said he always tries to tell his teammates “to go win those first four minutes,” which the team certainly did. Perhaps when a team shows its dominance early on, it shell shocks the opponent to the point where they are second guessing their decisions, and if you can psychologically defeat your opponent like that, you can physically defeat them as well.
Gouard was pleased with his team’s play.
“We put together a game plan, and for about 36 minutes, we followed the game plan,” he said. “I think they had 15 turnovers in the first half, and a lot of credit to our guys for the way we guarded, especially in transition.”
However, There were some flaws with the second-half performance, which was characterized by sloppy passing and some defensive mistakes.
“Late game, we lost our minds a little bit, especially during the second half,” Gouard said. “They started hitting us on backdoors because we overplayed the play.”
Gouard has praised players like Campion, Mielke, Olowoniyi, Randall, and Harrison for their offensive play, but also credited players like Jones, Kodi, Dunham, and Washington for their play off the bench.
“We played 11 guys, and our guards did a wonderful job of just wearing them down throughout the game,” he said.
He also mentioned the unsung heroes like Luther Smith, sophomore guard; Sam Mervis, graduate guard; and Ryan Hall, junior guard, who served as the scout team that week. Their job was to simulate what USI would be up against in terms of sets and plays they would have to face against Indiana State University.
Gouard said they did an excellent job, which ultimately led to their success against the Sycamores.
The USI men’s basketball team hopes to maintain their momentum Monday, when they host East-West University for a Monday matchup at 7 p.m.