TERRE HAUTE – Everything was working against Indiana State.

Three days after the NCAA selection committee omitted Indiana State from the NCAA tournament, the Sycamores trailed by 15 to SMU and were stumbling toward a home defeat as a No. 1 seed in the NIT.

On one side, SMU was 9-of-13 on 3s. This included three made by Ja’Heim Hudson (28.3% from deep this year), one made by Keon Ambrose-Hylton (his second make all season) and a trey that banked in for former Butler guard Chuck Harris.

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But ISU — the team ranked 10th in the country in 3-point percentage (38.5%) entering Wednesday — was 4-of-17 from deep. This disparity got the Mustangs out to a 57-42 lead early in the second half.

But don’t expect to keep Indiana State down for long.

SMU called a timeout leading 74-64 with 10:47 left. Indiana State scored the next 12 points and went on a 17-1 run to take the game over and eventually seize it, winning 101-92. The Sycamores made five of their final six 3s and put up 61 points in the second half to keep their season alive.

After not making the NCAA tournament, the Sycamores could’ve given in. But this team wants to keep going to prove why it should be in the field of 68, not the field of 32.

“We took a gut punch, we were devastated on Sunday,” Indiana State coach Josh Schertz said. “We thought we deserved to be in the tournament and we didn’t get in and our guys were gutted. They were shattered.

“And to pick yourself up with the pieces back, to be down 15 points with 18 minutes to play and look like you’re about to get knocked out, they showed unbelievable resilience and fortitude.”

For the second game in a row, ISU erased a large second-half deficit. In the MVC championship game against Drake on March 10, the Sycamores trailed by 18 points midway through the second half. They blitzed Drake with a 27-7 run in just over six minutes to take the lead.

But in that game, Indiana State surrendered 10 points in the final 3:21 to lose the game 84-80. The defeat took away Indiana State’s chance to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, thus putting its fate in the hands of the selection committee.

The difference Wednesday night was ISU’s defense. While SMU made plenty of shots that it’s not expected to regularly make, it also had its fair share of easy looks in the first 30 minutes.

“We went zone there in the second half,” Schertz said. “… I thought the zone kind of stymied some of their stuff, but we were able to get stops.”

Better shotmaking and improved defense led to the Sycamores coming back, but they wouldn’t have even been in the game without Jayson Kent. Kent — the second-year transfer from Bradley — scored 19 points in the first half to keep Indiana State afloat. And even as SMU continued to hold a sizable lead, Kent scored nine points in the second half before Indiana State went on the run that changed the game.

Kent was too much for the Mustangs to handle inside. He grabbed four offensive rebounds, continually got to the rim and put pressure on SMU’s defense. Kent finished with a career-high 35 points plus nine rebounds while going 11-of-12 from both the field and free-throw line.

“I just used my energy to make the hustle plays,” Kent said. “Coach always says the ball finds energy, so I was just making as many hustle plays as I can because I want to win it, and if that’s what I gotta do, that’s what I gotta do.”

It was only right that the run began with Kent. After SMU came out in a zone for a possession, Kent exposed the decision by sinking a 3-pointer from the right corner. That’s all the Sycamores needed for the whole team to get hot from downtown.

Kent is fourth on Indiana State in scoring, but in many ways, he’s the heart of the team. When he missed a game and a half with an injury in February, Indiana State lost to Illinois State and Southern Illinois. Those losses — especially the home defeat against 15-17 Illinois State — were likely the difference between the Sycamores making or missing the NCAA tournament.

But with Kent in the lineup, Indiana State is a different team. Unlike the team’s three leading scorers — Robbie Avila, Ryan Conwell and Isaiah Swope — Kent is hardly ever the go-to guy offensively. On Wednesday, he found ways to produce when others weren’t.

“We don’t call anything for him, ever,” Schertz said. “He is as good as there is at leveraging the system to be able to do what he does best. Jayson made all those plays on his own.”

Indiana State needed Kent to have a chance on Wednesday. Avila — who still had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists — was 2-of-11 from the field. Swope scored four points and played only 22 minutes. Conwell scored 25, but it even took him a while to fully get going.

Once the rest of the team joined Kent in his scoring crusade, there was nothing SMU could do. The Sycamores played below their standards for most of the night and still passed the century mark in scoring.

Indiana State moves on to face Minnesota in the second round of the NIT. This team gets to extend its incredible season at least one more game in front of a raucous crowd in the Hulman Center.

How far the Sycamores go in this tournament is unknown, but every team should know they won’t be held down for a full 40 minutes.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana State erases 15-point deficit to win NIT first round over SMU