Sycamores hang tough, fall to conference leader Bradley

Junior guard Harry Marshall makes quite a difference for the Sycamore men's basketball team.

Without Marshall, out with a hamstring injury Tuesday against Bradley, the Sycamores lost 63-52. With him in the lineup Saturday against Illinois State, the Sycamores won 75-70.

The Sycamores are 4-13 overall and 2-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Sycamores fought to keep close with Bradley throughout the game but Bradley was able to answer all of ISU's runs and put it away at the end with a 17-8 Bradley run. Turnovers were the name of the game as Bradley committed nine turnovers compared to ISU's 15. The assist disparity was also big enough to make a difference with 15 Bradley assists to ISU's eight.

Junior guard Rashad Reed said Marshall's absence certainly inhibited the Sycamore offense.

"When [Harry would get the ball], [the defense] collapses on him," Reed said. "But we have to be able to get wins without him." This collapsing allows other Sycamore players to get open and it also opens the passing lanes.

Freshman guard Tyler Cutter came back from an ankle injury for the game. ISU head coach Kevin McKenna said he was pleased by this fact.

"When we're missing 38 minutes of pretty good guard play [from Marshall], it's nice to get Tyler back," McKenna said. Bradley coach Jim Les may not have witnessed a pretty game from his team, but he said he was pleased.

"You don't get style points, last time I checked," Les said.

Saturday, the Sycamores beat Illinois State in overtime. Illinois State had been receiving votes for the ESPN/ USA Today Coaches Top-25 poll before the week where they lost to Bradley and Indiana State. Illinois State star junior guard Osiris Eldridge became ill Saturday but still played against the Sycamores. He was not the same Eldridge who has averaged 15.4 points per game and has shot 45 percent from the field. Saturday, he scored seven points while shooting two-for-seven from the field in 30 minutes of playing time.

Sycamore freshman guard Carl Richard said Eldridge's sickness didn't play into the Sycamore players' minds.

"He's still Osiris," Richard said after the game.

Six Sycamore players scored in double figures: senior forward/ center Jay Tunnell with 10, Reed and sophomore guard Aaron Carter each with 11, Marshall with 12, Richard with 14 and freshman guard Jordan Printy led the team with 15 points.

Printy was especially efficient as he shot four-for-four from the field, including a three-for-three effort from behind the three-point line. He also came up clutch when the Sycamores needed free throws to help put Illinois State away. Overall, he was four-for-four from the charity stripe.

The Sycamores struggled out of the gate but held close enough with Illinois State to make a 13-1 run at the end of the first half, putting them up by nine at the end of the period.

The Sycamores held a six-point lead at the 2:46 mark in the second half, but the Redbirds made sure it was a fight all the way as they went on a six-point run to end the game, forcing the overtime.

Illinois State head coach Tim Jankovich made sure it was known that his team is just going through the pains most good teams have to endure.

"Everybody goes through this," Jankovich said. "Everybody goes through tough times." Senior guard Champ Oguchi led the Redbirds for the game with 22 points. Three others joined Oguchi in double figures for the Redbirds but Oguchi was the go-to guy with Eldridge being ill.

The Sycamores netted two other wins while classes at ISU were not in session: a 66-60 win over DePauw at home on Dec. 20 and a double overtime 85-84 win over Northern Iowa in Iowa.

The win over Northern Iowa opened the conference season for the Sycamores. It is the second year in a row the Sycamores have won their Missouri Valley Conference opener. A 65-59 loss to Evansville on Jan. 4 marked the closest loss the Sycamores had during the break. The Sycamores also lost to Drake and Creighton in conference play. In non-conference play, they lost to Purdue and IUPUI during the break.

The next game for the Sycamores is Saturday at Evansville with tip-off at 8:05 p.m.