Indiana State keeps memorable season alive with NIT semifinal win

By Pete Janny (@pete_janny)

Robbie Avila could be mistaken for a sanitation worker, the same job the legendary Larry Bird worked before he became the greatest player in Indiana State’s history.

Avila, also referred to “Cream Abdul-Jabbar,” or “Milk Chamberlain,” depending on what your preference is, doesn’t sit in the same universe as Bird, yet has earned the right to be an iconic name in Terre Haute and beyond this season.

Whether the Sycamores won or lost in the NIT semifinals Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse, their presence in Indianapolis was always going to be greatly valued by a long-suffering fan base.

Indiana State passed its first test with flying colors, beating the Utah Utes, 100-90, to advance to the NIT title game Thursday night against Seton Hall, who beat Georgia in the second semifinal, 84-67.

Avila led the charge early by scoring 11 of the Sycamores’ first 13 points. The offensive tone had been set, and fittingly, was driven by the affable Avila. 

Avila buried his first three with just over two minutes in, paving the way for more open looks for the skilled big man. He uncorked back-to-back threes to stretch the lead to 13-7 by the 15:13 mark, which gave the Sycamore fans a quick early sigh of relief. 

But Utah had no plans of rolling over without a fight. After going down 28-17 following a layup from Xavier Bledson, the Utes showed off their arsenal of shot making to get back into the game. Utah hit three of its next four threes. Not before long, the lead was back into Utah’s hands at 34-33 on the strength of a 12-5 run. 

Indiana State was fortunate enough to go into the halftime break tied at 44, and salvaged some momentum from Ryan Conwell’s floater that beat the buzzer. Neither team's defense stepped up in the first half, especially when both teams traded baskets down the stretch. 

The second half was a return to the norm for what Indiana State head coach Josh Schertz expects from his team. The Sycamores came out on the favorable end of six lead changes by wearing down Utah inside and out, which was punctuated by a 50-28 advantage in points in the paint. Even when Utah threatened to get back to within single digits, led by 28 points from Deivon Smith, Indiana State showed the impressive mettle which has helped build a 32-6 record to date. 

“I thought we were really good offensively and made it hard on them,” Schertz said. “We worked together collectively to attack whatever they threw at us.”

Despite only shooting 12-of-34 from three, the Sycamores made a flurry of threes down the stretch to keep Utah at bay. Indiana State also won the turnover margin seven to one in the second half. 

“Whatever it took to win, we were willing to do,” Conwell said.

Avila led the way with 26 points on an efficient 11-of-14 shooting from the field, including 3-for-5 from downtown. He did most of his damage in the first half, when he shot 6-of-8 for 15 points before seeing his teammates really flourish in the second half. Conwell had 26 points on four threes to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Julian Larry and Isaiah Swope each supplied 15, with the former acting as the proverbial glue guy who did a little of everything for the Sycamores.

Perhaps nothing epitomizes the sense of belief and chemistry for the Sycamores more than the way Avila speaks of his team. 

“Teams have to pick their poison,” Avila said. “Obviously in the beginning of the game, I was able to get open, so I was able to get going, but then they really started to focus on me and switch defenses and that started to create for Ryan and Swo. The sacrifice and the ability to find the hot hand is the reason we are able to put up so many points.” 

For a program that came painfully close to the NCAA Tournament both as a Missouri Valley Conference championship contender and at-large candidate, Indiana State still has plenty to smile about and be grateful for. On Thursday night, Seton Hall is what stands between the Sycamores and bringing a piece of hardware back to Terre Haute.

“To play in front of this crowd and in this environment has been amazing,” Avila said. “We are doing this for more than our team. We are doing it for the entire city of Terre Haute, Indiana State University, and just being able to play games in front of them again has been a blessing.”