Indiana State's 'throwback team' captured imagination of community, country with NIT run
"Our hearts are certainly broken tonight," Josh Schertz said following Indiana State's 79-77 loss to Seton Hall in the NIT championship game. Indiana State lost 79-77 to Seton Hall in the NIT championship game, marking a season-ending setback that made it particularly difficult for the team to overcome. The loss was particularly painful as the team had led by 11 points late in the first half, leading with an 8-0 run that extended the lead to 77-70 with 3:03 remaining. However, the team's final four possessions were a crucial missed 3-pointer from Isaiah Swope and another from Ryan Conwell. The team's performance and response to being overlooked from the NCAA tournament dominated their historic season. Coach Josh Schertz described the team as "a throwback group" who built a connection with the community and represented a rare breed of resilience.
gepubliceerd : 4 weken geleden door Brian Haenchen in Sports
INDIANAPOLIS — To be great at anything, you have to be willing to have your heart broken. That was the opening sentiment from Indiana State coach Josh Schertz in the aftermath of a gut-wrenching 79-77 loss to Seton Hall in the NIT championship game. "Our hearts are certainly broken tonight."
Stakes aside, the season-ending setback was made especially painful by how it transpired.
The Sycamores had their opponent on the ropes. After trailing by as many as 11 points late in the first half, Indiana State went on a game-tilting 8-0 run capped by an Isaiah Swope 3-pointer from the volleyball line to extend the Missouri Valley Conference champion's lead to 77-70 with 3:03 remaining. ISU had all the momentum and the energy from the Sycamore-dominated Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd was at its peak.
Then the wheels came off.
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As Indiana State missed its final seven shots from the field, Seton Hall embarked on a stunning 9-0 run. Lawrence Central alum Dre Davis slammed the final exclamation point on the Pirates' postseason run with a spinning layup through traffic that proved to be the game-winner with 17.2 seconds remaining.
Indiana State went for the 3 on its final possession, but Swope lost control of the ball as he collided with Al-Amir Dawes at the top of the arc, then had his second 3-point try blocked by Jaden Bediako. Ryan Conwell recovered the loose ball and his desperation heave clanged off the front of the rim as time expired.
Schertz thought there may have been a foul on Swope's initial 3-point attempt, but Conwell's 3-pointer looked to be on line before veering off at the last second.
As for the four consecutive missed 3-pointers over the final three minutes of regulation, Schertz said they were quality looks within their wheelhouse.
"We weren't forcing or rushing any of those," he continued. "But that wasn't what cost us the game, it was the last four possessions when we couldn't get stops. You have to be able to close with your defense and rebound."
Players were not made available following the game, but Schertz described the scene in his locker room, his players "crying their eyes out," as he himself fought back tears. "To be great at something," he said, "you have to put your entire heart and soul into it and when you come up short, it's difficult."
"There's nothing you can say to alleviate how they feel," Schertz later added. "They are devastated, but I think they have shown over and over again how resilient they are."
Indeed. Heartbreak colored Thursday's season finale, but the 2023-24 Sycamores will be remembered for how they did not allow the heartbreak that followed their omission from the NCAA tournament to define their historic season. This team will be remembered for how it "hit the reset button" after Selection Sunday and followed their magical regular season — one which saw them reach heights Terre Haute hasn't seen since the Larry Bird era — with an equally remarkable run through the NIT.
Indiana State commanded the attention of not only the Terre Haute community, but the entire country, with the Sycamores, their individual stars, high-powered offense and response to that inexplicable snub dominating national headlines alongside the likes of Purdue and UConn.
"The journey these guys have been on, the exposure they've given to our program, to Indiana State, to Terre Haute — you can't put a price tag on it," Schertz said.
This was "a throwback group," Schertz said, a throwback to an era when "things weren't transactional." These Sycamores built a real connection with their community, he continued, demonstrated by the five straight sellouts (three at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute and two at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis). And above all else, they genuinely cared about one another. "They play with a joy and a passion and a fight that's rare."
"We always talk about, 'What is the chase building in you?'" Schertz said. "In these guys, it built resilience and toughness; it built an ability to be a part of something bigger than yourself. I'm inspired by their resilience, their fortitude. I'm inspired by the way they handle setbacks. I'm inspired by the way that they sacrifice and give up for each other. I'm inspired by the kind of teammates they are, the kind of human beings they are."
"I'm better as a man for having been part of this team and this journey."
Onderwerpen: Basketball