Box Score


Despite the outcome vs. Indiana State, Monday night was a win for the SMWC men's basketball program. The third-year program, under the leadership of first-year head coach Jesse McClung, provided his team an opportunity to showcase its talents against Terre Haute's NCAA Division I squad in front of a passionate fanbase of basketball fans in the Wabash Valley.
The Pomeroys left the 10,200-seat arena with plenty to be proud of, exiting its preseason healthy and ready to take on its NAIA schedule beginning Wednesday at Cincinnati-Clermont and continuing Saturday at nationally-ranked Lourdes.
Eighteen players saw the court against a new-look Sycamore squad, which prevailed for a 90-60 victory in ISU's regular-season opener.
Senior guard Tarik Dixon led the Pomeroys with 10 points, and senior Cobie Barnes added eight. Junior guards DaMeriz Merriweather and Greg Jenkins chipped in seven points apiece.
SMWC was able to continue to gel together against the most talented opponent it will see all season. The Sycamores made 12 of 30 3-point attempts, shooting 55.4 percent overall and 40 percent from long range.
"I believe the better teams you play, the better you're going to be. Indiana State's picked near the top of their conference and hopefully we can be at the top of our conference, too," said Barnes.
Lincoln Hale, who was unable to get the open shots he got against Valpo last week, said the Pomeroys will be better because of a game like this one.
"I think it exposed some weaknesses we need to work on. It's only going to help us down the road," Hale said.
SMWC survived Isaiah Swope making four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes of the game, which put ISU ahead 21-14, to battle back within 23-19 on buckets by Chaz Birchfield and Barnes five minutes later.
The problem was ISU's other deadly outside shooting guard began to warm up. Ryan Conwell, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound transfer from the University of South Florida, hit a 3-pointer to spark a 12-0 run for the Sycamores.
SMWC had three costly turnovers that turned into ISU points during that stretch. SMWC had just eight turnovers after 32 minutes of action with the top 10 players in the Pomeroys' rotation on the floor.
"We took care of the ball. If we can rebound 32-36 against the caliber of athletes Indiana State has and we can rebound with them ... those are two very positive things I'll go away with," coach Jesse McClung said.
SMWC went into halftime behind 44-29. Barnes made a couple of mid-range jumpers, Blake Welle hit a turn-around jumper and Merriweather hit 2 of 3 at the free-throw line to keep SMWC within 58-45 with 14:19 to go.
That was as close as SMWC could get and the Pomeroys' starters gave way to the team's veteran bench. Senior Jesse Burdick, who played at nearby Marshall, Ill., put up six points over the final 12 minutes. Terre Haute native Braden Edington also converted on a reverse layup off a baseline drive to score in Hulman Center.
"It feels pretty good. It was Larry Bird's house. Can't complain. It's fun to be out there and play for a little bit and watch my teammates succeed on the floor," said Edington, adding that he's enjoying taking on a mentor role on the team.
Andre Irvin Jr. scored five points in just five minutes. Dakota Sampson had two steals and a blocked shot. 
 
ISU COACH PRAISES POMEROYS
ISU coach Josh Schertz said he expects the Pomeroys to put together a strong season this winter in the NAIA.
"Jesse (McClung), the job he's done. He's put together a really good team. They're going to win a heck of a lot of games at the NAIA level. Got talent, athleticism, they compete, well-coached, play hard.I thought they, for a lot of the game, really beat us up physically, kicked our tails on the glass. Credit to him. You can tell the energy he coaches with. His players reflect that. Really impressed with that basketball team."
Schertz said he would like the series to continue in future seasons.
"We're going to try to make this a regular occurrence, as much as we can. I think it's great for Vigo County," Schertz said.
 
BARNES RETURNS TO HULMAN CENTER
Barnes played two seasons for Indiana State at the start of his career and enjoyed the opportunity to return as an opposing player.
"It's kind of weird coming in being the opponent. But it was great. The atmosphere's always been amazing," said Barnes.